nymphaea · noun — the European white water lily.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
nymphaea is pronounced /nɪmˈfiːə/.
Why “nymphaea” is a great word
A plant of the genus Nymphaea, the aquatic perennials known as water lilies, whose blossoms and pads float upon still water. Its name flows from the Latin nymphaea, from the Ancient Greek νυμφαῖα (numphaîa), the feminine form of νυμφαῖος (numphaîos, "sacred to the nymphs"), from νύμφη (númphē, "nymph"). Unlike "lotus," which denotes the Nelumbo with stems that raise its bloom above the surface, or "pondweed," a term for humbler, submerged flora, nymphaea rests directly upon the mirror of the world. It is the white chalice anchored in the dark, a waxen pad beading mercury, and a closed pink bud adrift at dusk—the most rooted of flowers giving the perfect impression of detachment.
❧ Written by Lexicurio’s AI
Etymology
From Latin nymphaea, from Ancient Greek νυμφαῖα (numphaîa), feminine singular form of νυμφαῖος (numphaîos, “sacred to the nymphs”), from νύμφη (númphē, “nymph”). Sense 2 is a semantic loan from translingual Nymphaea, from the same Latin and Greek.
noun
- the European white water lily.e.g.“Guianerius, cap. 8, tract. 15, would have them used twice a day, and when they come forth of the baths, their backbones to be anointed with oil of almonds, violets, nymphæa, fresh capon-grease, etc.” — 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section
- Any species of the genus Nymphaea.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.