ambrosia definition | Dictionary.com

am⋅bro⋅sia

[am-broh-zhuh]

–noun

1.	Classical Mythology. the food of the gods. Compare nectar (def. 3).

2.	something especially delicious to taste or smell.

3.	a fruit dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut and sometimes pineapple.

Origin:
1545–55; < L < Gk: immortality, food of the gods, n. use of fem. of ambrósios, equiv. to a- a- ⁶ + -mbros- (comb. form of brotōs mortal; akin to L mortuus dead, murder ) + -ios adj. suffix; r. ME ambrose, ambrosie < OF ambroise < L

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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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am·bro·sia (ām-brō'zhə, -zhē-ə) Pronunciation Key
n.

Greek & Roman Mythology The food of the gods, thought to confer immortality.
Something with an especially delicious flavor or fragrance.
A dessert containing primarily oranges and flaked coconut.

[Latin, from Greek ambrosiā, from ambrotos, immortal, immortalizing; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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ambrosia

1555, "favored food or drink of the gods," from L. ambrosia, from Gk. ambrosios, lit. "of the immortals," from a- "not" + mbrotos, related to mortos "mortal." Applied to certain herbs by Pliny and Dioscorides; used of various foods for mortals since 1685 (originally of fruit drinks).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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ambrosia
noun
1.	a mixture of nectar and pollen prepared by worker bees and fed to larvae [syn: beebread]
2.	any of numerous chiefly North American weedy plants constituting the genus Ambrosia that produce highly allergenic pollen responsible for much hay fever and asthma [syn: ragweed]
3.	fruit dessert made of oranges and bananas with shredded coconut
4.	(classical mythology) the food and drink of the gods; mortals who ate it became immortal

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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ambrosia [(am-broh-zhuh)]

The food of the gods in classical mythology. Those who ate it became immortal.

Note: Particularly delicious food is sometimes called “ambrosia.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry: Am·bro·sia
Pronunciation: am-'brO-zh(E-)&
Function: noun
: a genus of mostly American monoecious composite herbs that includesthe ragweeds

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Ambrosia

Am*bro"sia\ (?; 277), n. [L. ambrosia, Gr. ?, properly fem. of ?, fr. ? immortal, divine; 'a priv. + ? mortal (because it was supposed to confer immortality on those who partook of it). ? stands for ?, akin to Skr. mrita, L. mortuus, dead, and to E. mortal.]

1. (Myth.) (a) The fabled food of the gods (as nectar was their drink), which conferred immortality upon those who partook of it. (b) An unguent of the gods.

His dewy locks distilled ambrosia. --Milton.

2. A perfumed unguent, salve, or draught; something very pleasing to the taste or smell. --Spenser.

3. Formerly, a kind of fragrant plant; now (Bot.), a genus of plants, including some coarse and worthless weeds, called ragweed, hogweed, etc.

Ambrosia

Am*bro"sia\, n. (Zo["o]l.) The food of certain small bark beetles, family Scolytid[ae] believed to be fungi cultivated by the beetles in their burrows.

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