amaranthine
May. 13th, 2016 07:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordamaranthine (am-uh-RAN-thin) - adj., of or relating to amaranth; unfading, everlasting. n., a dark reddish-purple color.
So, in Greek religion, taken over by mythology, amaranth was an imaginary flower that never faded (amarant meant not-wilting, but the -t went to -th under the influence of anthos, flower) sacred to Artemis and sometimes described as present in the Elysian Fields. At some point, it's not clear when, the name came to be applied to the genus we now call this. The plant is sometimes considered a weed, but was an important food plant (it's closely related to quinoa) for the Aztecs. The color comes from the color of amaranth flowers. (Personally, I like the leaves as a component of a stir-fry, but the seeds are nearly as good as quinoa.) The adjective was coined in 1667 by John Milton in the unfading sense, later applied to the modern plant.
---L.
So, in Greek religion, taken over by mythology, amaranth was an imaginary flower that never faded (amarant meant not-wilting, but the -t went to -th under the influence of anthos, flower) sacred to Artemis and sometimes described as present in the Elysian Fields. At some point, it's not clear when, the name came to be applied to the genus we now call this. The plant is sometimes considered a weed, but was an important food plant (it's closely related to quinoa) for the Aztecs. The color comes from the color of amaranth flowers. (Personally, I like the leaves as a component of a stir-fry, but the seeds are nearly as good as quinoa.) The adjective was coined in 1667 by John Milton in the unfading sense, later applied to the modern plant.
---L.
