lotus

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈləʊtəs/ (UK); /ˈloʊtəs/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lōtus,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek λωτός (lōtós), a name of several plants,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} perhaps of Semitic origin (compare Hebrew lōṭ “myrrh”).^[2][3][4] Hoad considers it of unknown origin.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plant whose fruit was the food of the Lotus-eaters of Greek legend, described by Homer as producing dreamy forgetfulness (1540–41).^[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Greek lōtós named several unrelated plants before it came to mean the Egyptian white water lily, a sense found in English from the 1580s.^[4][7][1] The Homeric lotus was later held to be a North African shrub such as the jujube.^[4][5][8] An ornament representing the Egyptian water lily appears in architecture from 1584,^[7] and the plant plays a large part in the mythology of India, Egypt and China.^[4] Its symbolic use in Hindu and Buddhist thought and the yogic lotus position are attested from 1848.^[7][4] Botanists also use Lotus as the name of a genus of leguminous plants, including bird's-foot trefoil.^[7][5] The lotus-eater, one who lives a life of idle pleasure, is from 1812.^[4]

Timeline

• 1540–41 – the plant of the Lotus-eaters.^[7][3]
• 1580s – the Egyptian water lily.^[4]
• 1584 – an architectural ornament.^[7]
• 1753 – a botanical genus.^[7]
• 1812 – lotus-eater.^[4]
• 1848 – Hindu and Buddhist symbol; the yogic position.^[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An aquatic plant, Nelumbo nucifera, of southern Asia, with large leaves and fragrant pink flowers, or any of several related plants and water lilies of Egypt and India.
2. A representation of such a plant in Egyptian, Hindu or classical art and architecture.
3. In Greek legend, a plant whose fruit caused dreamy contentment and forgetfulness in those who ate it.
4. Any of several plants of the genus Lotus, such as bird's-foot trefoil.
5. The lotus position.

Word family

• lotus-eater
• lotus land
• lotus position

Related words

• water lily
• lotophagi

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House