amarant

Noun

amaranth (countable and uncountable, plural amaranths)

1. (dated, poetic) An imaginary flower that does not wither.
   • With ſolemn adoration down they [the angels] caſt / Thir Crowns inwove with Amarant and Gold; / Immortal Amarant, a Flour which once / In Paradiſe, faſt by the Tree of Life / Began to bloom, but ſoon for mans offence / To Heav'n remov'd where firſt it grew, there grows, / And flours aloft ſhading...1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
2. Any of various herbs of the genus Amaranthus.
   • In the Beginning of September, the Amaranths will have perfected their Seeds, ſo that you muſt make Choice of the largeſt, moſt beautiful, and beſt branching Plants of each Kind for Seed; […]1733, Philip Miller, “AMARANTHUS, or AMARANTUS”, in The Gardeners Dictionary: […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, column 1

   Synonyms:

   amaranthus, pigweed

3. The characteristic purplish-red colour of the flowers or leaves of these plants.
   • [F]rom the mixture of blue and ſcarlet are form'd amaranth, violet, and panſy; from the ſame mixture of blue and crimſon red are form'd the columbine or dove Colour, purple, crimſon, amaranth, panſy and crimſon violet.1735, “COLOURS us’d in DYING”, in Dictionarium Polygraphicum: Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested. […], volume I, London: Printed for C. Hitch and C. Davis […], and S. Austen […], →OCLC
4. A red to purple azo dye used as a biological stain, and in some countries in cosmetics and as a food colouring. See Amaranth (dye).
   • Amaranth, the most common red food colour in both the US and UK, was banned last week in the US after a study suggested that it caused cancer in rats. […] The situation is confused, however, because the test rats were mixed up with the controls in the US tests, and because some tests have indicated...1976 January 29, “US Bans Commonest Red Food Colour”, in Bernard Dixon, editor, New Scientist, volume 69, number 985, London: New Science Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 234, column 1

   Synonyms:

   E123

5. The seed of these plants, used as a cereal.
   • They [the Aztecs] considered the plant sacred and it played a key role in many rituals. The Catholic Spaniards were particularly disturbed by the practice of mixing a little blood from human sacrifices into amaranth dough, baking it into cakes which were then broken up and eaten by the faithful....2016, Kassia St Clair, “Amaranth”, in The Secret Lives of Colour, London: John Murray, →ISBN