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lotus

[loh-tuhs]

Origin

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noun, plural -tus·es.

a plant believed to be a jujube or elm, referred to in Greek legend as yielding a fruit that induced a state of dreamy and contented forgetfulness in those who ate it.

the fruit itself.

any aquatic plant of the genus Nelumbo, of the water lily family, having shieldlike leaves and showy, solitary flowers usually projecting above the water.

any of several water lilies of the genus Nymphaea.

a decorative motif derived from such a plant and used widely in ancient art, as on the capitals of Egyptian columns.

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any shrubby plant of the genus Lotus, of the legume family, having red, pink, yellow, or white flowers.

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Origin:
1530–40; < Latin lōtus, lōtos < Greek lōtós the lotus plant, perh of Semitic orig.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Lotus is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

lotus (ˈləʊtəs)

—n
1.	(in Greek mythology) a fruit that induces forgetfulness and a dreamy languor in those who eat it
2.	the plant bearing this fruit, thought to be the jujube, the date, or any of various other plants
3.	any of several water lilies of tropical Africa and Asia, esp the white lotus (Nymphaea lotus), which was regarded as sacred in ancient Egypt
4.	a similar plant, Nelumbo nucifera, which is the sacred lotus of India, China, and Tibet and also sacred in Egypt: family Nelumbonaceae
5.	a representation of such a plant, common in Hindu, Buddhist, and ancient Egyptian carving and decorative art
6.	any leguminous plant of the genus Lotus, of the Old World and North America, having yellow, pink, or white pealike flowers

[C16: via Latin from Greek lōtos, from Semitic; related to Hebrew lōt myrrh]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

lotus

c.1540, from L. lotus, from Gk. lotos, name used for several plants before it came to mean Egyptian white lotus (a sense attested in Eng. from 1584); perhaps from a Sem. source (cf. Heb. lot "myrrh"). The yogic sense is attested from 1848. Lotus-eaters (1832) are from Gk. lotophagoi, mentioned in "Odyssey,"

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book IX.

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"For I must tell you, I was given to understand in my childhood, that the British island from which my forefathers came, was no lotus-garden, no paradise of serene sky and roses and music and merriment all the year round, no, but a cold foggy mournful country, where nothing grew well in the open air, but robust men and virtuous women, and these of a wonderful fibre and endurance; that their best parts were slowly revealed; their virtues did not come out until they quarrelled: they did not strike twelve the first time; good lovers, good haters, and you could know little about them till you had seen them long, and little good of them till you had seen them in action; that in prosperity they were moody and dumpish, but in adversity they were grand."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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lotus

lo·tus