amaranth

American  

[am-uh-ranth] / ˈæm əˌrænθ /

noun

amaranths plural

1. an imaginary, undying flower.

2. any plant of the genus Amaranthus, some species of which are cultivated as food and some for their showy flower clusters or foliage.

3. the grain of certain Amaranthus species, used for food and noted as an important staple grain of the Aztecs.

4. Chemistry. a purplish-red, water-soluble powder, C 20 H 11 N 2 O 10 Na 3 , an azo dye used chiefly to color pharmaceuticals, food, and garments.

5. purpleheart.

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amaranth British  

/ ˈæməˌrænθ /

noun

1. poetic an imaginary flower that never fades

2. any of numerous tropical and temperate plants of the genus Amaranthus, having tassel-like heads of small green, red, or purple flowers: family Amaranthaceae See also love-lies-bleeding tumbleweed pigweed

3. a synthetic red food colouring ( E123 ), used in packet soups, cake mixes, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• amaranths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of amaranth

First recorded in 1545–55; from French amarante or New Latin amaranthus (genus name), from Latin amarantus (masculine noun), alteration of Greek amáranton “unfading flower,” noun use of neuter singular of amárantos “unfading, imperishable,” equivalent to a- a- ⁶ ( def. ) ( see an- ¹ ( def. )) + maran- (stem of maraínein “to fade”) + -tos verbal adjective suffix; -th- as if from Greek ánthos “flower”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

amaranth amaranths

Heavy use of longstanding herbicides, like glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup, has contributed to resistance developing among weeds such as waterhemp and palmer amaranth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026

Figure out how many anchor flowers you’ll need, and roughly how many filler stems — such as greens, draping clusters of amaranth or smaller flowers like baby’s breath — are required to make each arrangement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2024

The researchers used five flours that included gluten: unbleached all-purpose flour, red turkey wheat, emmer, rye and einkorn; and five gluten-free flours: teff, millet, sorghum, buckwheat and amaranth.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2023

On the farm, people grow culturally relevant produce like terere, kunde and managu — amaranth, cowpeas leaves and African nightshade.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2023

Abdul Cader, the medicine man, was sitting at a bench outside, pounding amaranth leaves.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

Fraga said she’s particularly excited to see the fringed amaranths bloom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2023

This year, she’s recommending dried fruit, ferns and amaranths instead.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2021

The poetic plant list ranges from asters to zinnias, from wallflowers and cosmos to gillyflowers, tree mallows, trailing lobelias, globe amaranths, toadflax and perennial sage.

From New York Times ● May 12, 2016

So do amaranths, which have been a human food staple as well.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 9, 2011

Closely related species replace each other geographically among the amaranths, beans, chenopods, chili peppers, cottons, squashes, and tobaccos.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond