nectar

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin nectar (“the drink of the gods; wine or other sweet drink”),^[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek νέκταρ (néktar, “the drink of the gods”).^[2][3][6] In post-classical Latin the word was also used of the fluid secreted by plants, from the 8th century.^[2] The OED compares French nectar, recorded in the sense of the gods' drink from the early 16th century.^[2] The Greek word is of unknown or uncertain origin.^[2][4][7] It is often explained as an old Indo-European poetic compound meaning "overcoming death", of Proto-Indo-European *nek- (“death”), as in nex (“death, murder”), and an element meaning "overcoming", from *tere- (“to cross over, overcome”), as in a Sanskrit verb meaning "he crosses over";^[3][8][4] Ayto sees an allusion to the immortality of the gods, and Barnhart notes the likeness in meaning to ambrosia.^[9][4] Klein instead derived it from a Hebrew phrase meaning smoked or perfumed wine.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The drink of the gods in classical mythology: 1555, in R. Eden's translation of Peter Martyr's Decades.^[2][4][8]

Semantic evolution

A figurative use follows in 1557, in the Songes and Sonettes of the Earl of Surrey and others.^[2] Soon after the word arrived it was applied to any delicious drink:^[9] the OED dates this to 1559, Barnhart to 1583 and Etymonline to the 1580s.^[2][4][3] The botanical sense, the sugary fluid that flowers secrete to attract pollinators, is from 1609, in C. Butler's Feminine Monarchie,^[2][4] or about 1600 in Etymonline.^[3] In American English nectar became the usual word for a thick fruit drink in the mid-20th century.^[10] In slang it has meant alcoholic drink since 1749, in Smollett's translation of Gil Blas.^[11] The adjective nectarine, "like nectar", became the name of a smooth-skinned peach in the 17th century.^[10][9][7]

Timeline

• 1555 – the drink of the gods.^[2][8][4]
• 1557 – figurative use.^[2]
• 1559 – any delicious drink.^[2] Barnhart dates this sense to 1583.^[4]
• 1609 – the sweet fluid secreted by flowers.^[2][4]
• 1684 – a pleasant-tasting medicinal drink (obsolete, rare).^[2]
• 1749 – slang, alcoholic drink.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sugary fluid secreted by flowers and collected by bees to make honey.^[12][8][2]
2. In classical mythology, the drink of the gods; compare ambrosia.^[12][8][2]
3. Any delicious drink, especially a sweet one.^[12][8][2]
4. (chiefly US) A drink of blended or undiluted fruit juice.^[8][12][2]
5. Something very pleasant or welcome: The news was nectar to the exhausted crew.^[12]

Word family

• nectarous
• nectarlike
• nectariferous
• nectarize

Related words

• nectarine
• nectary
• ambrosia
• necromancy
• noxious

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
12. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins