Xenia

¹ American  

[zee-nee-uh, zeen-yuh] / ˈzi ni ə, ˈzin yə /

noun

1. a city in W Ohio.

2. a female given name.

---

xenia ² American  

[zee-nee-uh, zeen-yuh] / ˈzi ni ə, ˈzin yə /

noun

Botany.

1. the influence or effect of pollen on a structure other than the embryo, as the seed or fruit.

---

xenia British  

/ ˈziːnɪə /

noun

1. botany the influence of pollen upon the form of the fruit developing after pollination

---

Other Word Forms

• xenial adjective

Etymology

Origin of xenia

First recorded in 1895–1900; from New Latin from Greek xenía “hospitality”; xen-, -ia

Example Sentences

Though it falls into a fairly common category of images of food called “xenia” — offerings for guests — it is not like most of the roughly 300 examples that have been found in Vesuvian cities.

From New York Times