lotus English · revision 812

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈləʊtəs/ ''(UK)''; /ˈloʊtəs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|lōtus]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|grc|λωτός|tr=lōtós]], a name of several plants,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps of Semitic origin (compare Hebrew ''lōṭ'' “myrrh”).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Hoad considers it of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==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.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) The Homeric lotus was later held to be a North African shrub such as the jujube.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) An ornament representing the Egyptian water lily appears in architecture from 1584,^(OED 1989) and the plant plays a large part in the mythology of India, Egypt and China.^(Etymonline) Its symbolic use in Hindu and Buddhist thought and the yogic ''lotus position'' are attested from 1848.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Botanists also use ''Lotus'' as the name of a genus of leguminous plants, including bird's-foot trefoil.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) The ''lotus-eater'', one who lives a life of idle pleasure, is from 1812.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1540–41 – the plant of the Lotus-eaters.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1580s – the Egyptian water lily.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1584 – an architectural ornament.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1753 – a botanical genus.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1812 – ''lotus-eater''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1848 – Hindu and Buddhist symbol; the yogic position.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[aquatic]] plant, ''Nelumbo nucifera'', of southern Asia, with large leaves and fragrant pink flowers, or any of several related plants and [[water lily|alt=water lilies]] of Egypt and India.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A representation of such a plant in Egyptian, Hindu or classical art and architecture.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In Greek legend, a plant whose fruit caused dreamy contentment and forgetfulness in those who ate it.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any of several plants of the genus ''Lotus'', such as [[bird's-foot trefoil]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ # The [[lotus position]].^(Wiktionary)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lotus-eater]]

+ * [[lotus land]]

+ * [[lotus position]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[water lily]]

+ * [[lotophagi]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}