English
ambrosia
Ambrosia comes from Latin ambrosia ‘food of the gods’, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́μβροτος ‘immortal, divine’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘to die’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-‘to die’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mr̥tós‘dead’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*n̥mr̥tós‘immortal’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ə́mrətos‘immortal, undying’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́μβροτοςắmbrotos‘immortal, divine’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓μβροσῐ́ᾱămbrosĭ́ā
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambrosia‘food of the gods’
- Englishearliest quotation 1845ambrosia
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-‘to die’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mr̥tós‘dead’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*n̥mr̥tós‘immortal’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ə́mrətos‘immortal, undying’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́μβροτοςắmbrotos‘immortal, divine’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓μβροσῐ́ᾱămbrosĭ́ā
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambrosia‘food of the gods’
- Englishearliest quotation 1845ambrosia
Earliest quotation: 1845, Caroline Lee Hentz, The Mysterious Reticule: “He had a most intense admiration of female loveliness,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘to die’
march, remember, murder, marine, nightmare, mere, maritime, mortality, marsh, mortal, mortar, mare, mara, moor, muller, morbid, mort, morn, marinate, moribund, marinara, maar, cormorant, 62 more
through Proto-Indo-European *n̥mr̥tós ‘immortal’
Today it means
noun The food of the gods, thought to confer immortality.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mer- / ambrosia