amaranth means an imaginary flower that does not wither. It carries an Arena rating of 1805, earned across 15 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, amaranth ranks #161 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #214 of 42,747 for Qualifying, #500 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #699 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
amaranth is pronounced /ˈæməɹænθ/.
Why “amaranth” is a great word
An unfading, purplish-red color, or the plant of the genus *Amaranthus* whose flowers bear it. From Latin *amarantus*, from Greek *amarantos*, meaning "unfading" or "everlasting." Unlike "celosia," which denotes a related genus with plume-like or crested blooms, or "ephemeral," which names the fleeting, amaranth is defined by its constancy. It is the deep, enduring pigment of a dried bouquet in a sun-bleached room; the heavy, seed-laden tassel nodding in the autumn wind long after the garden has faded; the ancient grain that outlasted the civilizations who first cultivated it—a quiet rebuke to the tyranny of time.
Etymology
Borrowed from French amarante, or directly from its etymon Latin amarantus (the word ending influenced by plant names derived from Ancient Greek ἄνθος (ánthos, “a bloom, blossom, flower”)), from Ancient Greek ἀμάραντος (amárantos, “eternal, undying, unfading, unwilting; amaranth; everlasting flower”) (modern Greek αμάραντος (amárantos)), from ᾰ̓- (ă-, the alpha privativum, a prefix forming words having a sense opposite to the word or stem to which it is attached) + μαραίνω (maraínō, “to shrivel, wither”) + -τος (-tos, suffix forming adjectives).
noun
- An imaginary flower that does not wither.
- Any of various herbs of the genus Amaranthus.
- The characteristic purplish-red colour of the flowers or leaves of these plants.
- A red to purple azo dye used as a biological stain, and in some countries in cosmetics and as a food colouring. See Amaranth (dye).
- The seed of these plants, used as a cereal.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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