amaranth

2 synonyms for amaranth, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — Any of various herbs of the genus Amaranthus, often grown as ornamental plants or for food.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

amaranthus pigweed

How to use amaranth

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

amaranth grain amaranth leaves shade of amaranth amaranth flour

Amaranth is a fairly specialised word, most often met in cooking, gardening or colour naming rather than everyday speech.

Etymology

Amaranth was borrowed from French amarante, itself from Latin amarantus, which goes back to Ancient Greek amarantos, meaning undying or unfading. That Greek word is built from a negative prefix attached to a verb meaning to wither, so the name originally described a flower imagined never to fade.

Full origin of amaranth →

Frequently asked questions

Is amaranth a grain or a vegetable?

It can be either: the leaves of the amaranth plant are eaten as a leafy vegetable, while its tiny seeds are cooked and eaten as a cereal grain.

What colour is amaranth?

Amaranth describes a deep purplish-red colour, taken from the shade of the plant's flowers and leaves.

Why is amaranth associated with being everlasting?

The name comes from an Ancient Greek word meaning unfading, since the plant's flowers were once imagined as a flower that never withers.

Nearby words

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