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amaranthine
Dec. 9th, 2013 07:22 amamaranthine (am-uh-RAN-thin, am-uh-RAN-thayn) - adj., of or resembling the amaranth; specifically, either unfading/undying/eternal or a dark reddish-purple color.
The two very different associated meanings come from there being two very different plants called amaranth. The first is what the ancient Greeks actually called amáranton (lit. the unfading), a mythical plant with flowers that never fade that grows in the Elysian fields, where the blessed dead reside. This name was applied in the 1550s to a genus of ornamental plants (also cultivated as a cereal) with long-lasting flowers with the color above.
---L.
The two very different associated meanings come from there being two very different plants called amaranth. The first is what the ancient Greeks actually called amáranton (lit. the unfading), a mythical plant with flowers that never fade that grows in the Elysian fields, where the blessed dead reside. This name was applied in the 1550s to a genus of ornamental plants (also cultivated as a cereal) with long-lasting flowers with the color above.
---L.
