English
amaranthine
Amaranthine comes from Ancient Greek ἀμάραντος ‘unfading’, and goes back to μαραίνω ‘to quench (fire)’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαραίνω‘to quench (fire)’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀμάραντοςamárantos‘unfading’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667amaranthine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαραίνω‘to quench (fire)’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀμάραντοςamárantos‘unfading’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667amaranthine
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book XI: “[…] The angelick blast Filled all the regions: from…”
first attested First attested in the 1660s (as stated in the etymology)
The story
Coined by Milton, originally meaning "unfading", as amaranth + -ine, from Ancient Greek ἀμάραντος (amárantos, “unfading”). First attested in the 1660s.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘to die’
remember, march, murder, mere, nightmare, mortality, marine, mortal, maritime, mortar, marsh, moor, muller, morbid, mare, mort, morn, mara, moribund, ambrosia, marinate, maar, marinara, cormorant, 61 more
Today it means
noun A dark reddish-purple colour.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek μαραίνω / amaranthine