Nectar Was the Drink of the Greek Gods
Nectar is the sugary fluid of flowers. In myth it was the drink of immortality, and the Greek name may mean overcoming death.
Nectar is the sugary liquid flowers produce to attract pollinators. In Greek myth it was the drink of the gods, paired with ambrosia as their food, and one proposed etymology reads it as *nek-*, death, plus *-tar*, overcoming — the drink that defeats death. Botany took the name in the eighteenth century for the plant fluid.
- Flower fluid. *Bees collect nectar.*
- The drink of the gods. *Nectar and ambrosia.*
- A delicious drink. *Sheer nectar.*
- Nectarine — a smooth-skinned peach. *A ripe nectarine.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | nectar | Rich nectar. |
| Adjective | nectarous | A nectarous scent. |
| Noun | nectary | The flower's nectary. |
| Related | nectarine | A white nectarine. |
| Related | ambrosia | Ambrosia and nectar. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Nectar becomes honey in the hive.After enzymes and evaporation.
- A nectary is the gland producing it.Botany.
- A nectarine is a smooth peach.A single gene difference.
From nectar to honey
- Collection — bees gather nectar in a special stomach
- Enzymes — added by the bee, breaking sucrose into simpler sugars
- Evaporation — the water content is fanned down to about eighteen per cent
- Capping — cells are sealed with wax once the honey is ready
- Result — a sugar concentration too high for microbes to grow in
From Greek *nektar*, the drink of the gods, possibly from *nek*, death, and a root meaning to overcome.
Is a nectarine a kind of peach?
Yes. The difference is a single recessive gene affecting the skin, and nectarines can appear on peach trees.
Why does honey not spoil?
Its sugar concentration is so high and its water content so low that microorganisms cannot grow in it.