English
nectar
Nectar comes from Ancient Greek νέκταρ ‘nourishment of the gods’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- ‘perish, disappear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neḱ-1‘perish, disappear’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέκταρ1néktar‘nourishment of the gods’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnectar1
- Englishearliest quotation 1590nectar1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English nectar
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto IV: “They pourd in soveraine balme and Nectar good, /…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neḱ-Wiktionary, English nectar‘perish, disappear’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέκταρWiktionary, English nectarnéktar‘nourishment of the gods’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnectarWiktionary, English nectar
- Englishearliest quotation 1590nectarWiktionary, English nectar. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto IV: “They pourd in soveraine balme and Nectar good, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- ‘perish, disappear’
innocent, innocence, nuisance, obnoxious, innocuous, noxious, necropolis, internecine, 18 more
Today it means
noun The drink of the gods.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “nectar”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- / nectar