ambrosia

[ am-broh-zhuh ]
/ æmˈbroʊ ʒə /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ambrosia ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Classical Mythology. the food of the gods. Compare nectar(def 3).
something especially delicious to taste or smell.
a fruit dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut and sometimes pineapple.

Origin of ambrosia

1545–55; < Latin < Greek: immortality, food of the gods, noun use of feminine of ambrósios, equivalent to a- a-6 + -mbros- (combining form of brotōs mortal; akin to Latin mortuus dead, murder) + -ios adj. suffix; replacing Middle English ambrose, ambrosie < Old French ambroise < Latin

Words nearby ambrosia

ambrette-seed oil, ambrettolide, ambroid, ambrose, ambrose channel, ambrosia, ambrosia beetle, ambrosial, ambrosian, ambrosian chant, ambrotype

Words related to ambrosia

delicacy, nectar

Example sentences from the Web for ambrosia

British Dictionary definitions for ambrosia

ambrosia
/ (æmˈbrəʊzɪə) /

noun

classical myth the food of the gods, said to bestow immortality Compare nectar (def. 2)
anything particularly delightful to taste or smell
another name for beebread
any of various herbaceous plants constituting the genus Ambrosia, mostly native to America but widely naturalized: family Asteraceae (composites). The genus includes the ragweeds

Derived forms of ambrosia

ambrosial or ambrosian, adjective ambrosially, adverb

Word Origin for ambrosia

C16: via Latin from Greek: immortality, from ambrotos, from a- 1 + brotos mortal

Cultural definitions for ambrosia

ambrosia
[ (am-broh-zhuh) ]

The food of the gods in classical mythology. Those who ate it became immortal.

notes for ambrosia

Particularly delicious food is sometimes called “ambrosia.”