Myth & LegendGreek → English
Ambrosia
/æmˈbroʊʒə/noun
The food of the Greek gods, and by extension anything delicious.
The Greek roots
ἀ-
a-
not, without
βροτός
brotós
mortal, a mortal man
Literally: “the undying thing”
The story of the word
The word means undying, so ambrosia is by definition not for people who die. Homer's gods eat it, drink νέκταρ alongside it, and also use it as an ointment: Thetis rubs it into Patroclus to keep his body from spoiling. The name later landed on a marshmallow and canned-fruit salad in the American South, which the Olympians would struggle to recognise.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
nectarambrosialimmortal
In a sentence
After eight hours on the hill, a cheese sandwich was ambrosia.
Her aunt brings the same ambrosia to every Thanksgiving, coconut and all.