νέκταρ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Of uncertain origin.

Traditionally taken as a poetic compound, from Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- (“to perish, disappear”) + *-tr̥h₂ (“overcoming”), from *terh₂- (“to overcome, pass through, cross over”); thus, literally "overcoming death", and so called because it gave immortality.

However, other theories involving a non-Indo-European borrowing have been proposed. Furnee compares νικάριον (nikárion, “eye salve”), suggesting a possible Pre-Greek origin for both, while Griffith and Levin have suggested borrowings from Egyptian and Semitic, respectively. Beekes appears to be split between the Indo-European and Pre-Greek theories, while expressing skepticism about the Afro-Asiatic proposals.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /nék.tar/ → /ˈnek.tar/ → /ˈnek.tar/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /nék.tar/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈnek.tar/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈnek.tar/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈnek.tar/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈnek.tar/

Noun

νέκτᾰρ • (néktar) n (genitive νέκτᾰρος); third declension

1. nectar, the specific nourishment (drink) of the gods

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ νέκτᾰρ; τοῦ νέκτᾰρος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	τὸ νέκτᾰρ tò néktar
Genitive	τοῦ νέκτᾰρος toû néktaros
Dative	τῷ νέκτᾰρῐ tôi néktari
Accusative	τὸ νέκτᾰρ tò néktar
Vocative	νέκτᾰρ néktar
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• νεκτάρεος (nektáreos)

Descendants

• Greek: νέκταρ (néktar)
• → Latin: nectar
  • → English: nectar
  • French: nectar
  • Italian: nettare
  • Portuguese: néctar
  • Spanish: néctar

See also

• ἀμβροσία (ambrosía)

Further reading

• “νέκταρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “νέκταρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “νέκταρ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• νέκταρ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• νέκταρ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “νέκταρ”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • nectar idem, page 554.
• “νέκταρ”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek νέκταρ (néktar).

Noun

νέκταρ • (néktar) f (uncountable)

1. (Greek mythology) nectar (the drink of the gods)
2. (by extension) an especially delicious drink

Declension

	singular
nominative	νέκταρ (néktar)
genitive	νέκταρος (néktaros)
accusative	νέκταρ (néktar)
vocative	νέκταρ (néktar)

Coordinate terms

• αμβροσία f (amvrosía, “ambrosia”)

Further reading

• νέκταρ on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el