Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A sweet liquid that many plants secrete from specialized structures, often inside flowers, where it serves to attract pollinators such as certain insects and birds. Bees use nectar to make honey.
- noun Greek & Roman Mythology The drink of the gods.
- noun A beverage containing fruit juice or purée.
- noun A delicious or invigorating drink.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In classical mythology, the drink or wine of the Olympian gods, poured out for them by Hebe and Ganymede, the cupbearers of Zeus.
- noun Hence, any delicious and salubrious drink.
- noun In botany, the honey of a flower; the superfluous saccharine matter remaining after the stamens and pistils have consumed all that they require.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Myth. & Poetic) The drink of the gods (as ambrosia was their food); hence, any delicious or inspiring beverage.
- noun (Bot.) A sweetish secretion of blossoms from which bees make honey.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun fruit juice especially when undiluted
- noun (classical mythology) the food and drink of the gods; mortals who ate it became immortal
- noun a sweet liquid secretion that is attractive to pollinators
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Detecting poisons in nectar is an odour-ous task for honeybees
April 1st, 2007 2007
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-- The term nectar was used by the early Greeks to mean the drink of the gods.
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"I suppose this is what they call nectar and ambrosia," said Magnus.
Boycotted And Other Stories Talbot Baines Reed 1872
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keich nectar comes from the Greek word "drink of the gods" so your idea is possible.
Tagruato Update - RRC Article Dennis 2007
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SHAPIRO: One group of students picked basil for a salad, while other kids showed Mrs. Obama how to suck the nectar from the base of a purple flower called agastache.
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Lulu, yes, clam nectar is the same thing as bottled clam juice.
Recipe for Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille (Red Pepper Sauce) Laurie Constantino 2009
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SHAPIRO: One group of students picked basil for a salad, while other kids showed Mrs. Obama how to suck the nectar from the base of a purple flower called agastache.
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Flower nectar is primarily comprised of sugars, which provide energy for the potential pollinators.
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SHAPIRO: One group of students picked basil for a salad, while other kids showed Mrs. Obama how to suck the nectar from the base of a purple flower called agastache.
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SHAPIRO: One group of students picked basil for a salad, while other kids showed Mrs. Obama how to suck the nectar from the base of a purple flower called agastache.
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