nectar

Forms

nectar m (plural nectars)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin nectar (“drink of the gods, anything sweet”), itself borrowed from Ancient Greek νέκταρ (néktar).^[2][3][4][5]

Rey calls the Greek etymology obscure; its ending in ⟨-ar⟩ suggests an old word.^[3] One explanation makes it a compound of a root meaning “death”, the one in nécro-, and an element meaning “to cross, overcome”, so a drink of immortality, like ambroisie as food.^[3] Wiktionary gives this as Proto-Indo-European *néḱtr̥h₂, from *neḱ- (“to perish”) and *terh₂- (“to overcome”).^[1] Others have proposed a Semitic loan or one from a language of Asia Minor.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Lemaire de Belges uses it before 1524 for the drink of the gods.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

It came in as a term of Greek mythology, the honey-based drink of the gods that made any human who drank it immortal.^[3][2] From 1550, in Ronsard, it was said of any exquisite drink, especially a fine wine, and in poetry figuratively of anything sweet and intoxicating to the mind.^[2][3][6]

In 1769 it became the botanical name for the sugary liquid secreted by flowers, which bees gather to make honey.^[2][3] The modern commercial sense is a drink made from fruit juice or pulp, water and sugar.^[7] Its derivatives nectaréen (1838) and nectarifère (1821) are poetic or botanical, and nectarine (1870) was borrowed from English.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1524 – Jean Lemaire de Belges uses it for the drink of the gods.^[2][3]
• 1550 – Ronsard uses it of an exquisite drink.^[2][8]
• before 1606 – Desportes uses it figuratively, of what delights the mind.^[6][8]
• 1769 – First used in botany for the liquid secreted by flowers.^[2][3]
• 1870 – Nectarine is borrowed from English.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Greek mythology) The drink of the gods, which gave them immortality: le nectar et l'ambroisie.^[7][2]
2. (literary) A delicious drink, especially an excellent wine.^[7][2][8]
3. (figurative) What charms the mind or the heart.^[8][6]
4. A drink made from fruit juice or pulp, water and sugar: un nectar de poire.^[7]
5. (botany) The sugary liquid secreted by flowers and gathered by bees.^[7][2][8]

Word family

• nectaréen
• nectarifère

Related words

• nectaire
• nectarine
• ambroisie
• Latin nectar

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette