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''lotus'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260125204041-00-⌔

lotus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Noun

lotus (plural lotuses or loti)

  • Any of genus Nelumbo of aquatic plants in the family Nelumbonaceae.
  • A water lily (Nymphaea), especially those of Egypt or India. [from 1580s]
  • A legendary plant eaten by the Lotophagi of the Odyssey that caused drowsiness and euphoria.
  • A number of other plants bearing lotus in their scientific or common names (see Derived terms below).
    • A date plum or Caucasian persimmon (Diospyros lotus).
    • Any of genus Lotus, a terrestrial genus with small flowers that includes bird’s-foot trefoils and deervetches.
    • A lotustree or lotus jujube (Ziziphus lotus), a shrub with edible fruit.
  • An architectural motif of ancient Egyptian temples.
  • Ellipsis of lotus position. [from 1848]
    • ✤ Since the ’60s ended abruptly on January 1, 1970, everyone, protestors, police and all, fell to the ground in a full lotus.1

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin lōtus, from Ancient Greek λωτός (lōtós). Doublet of lote. First attested in the 1540s. Ultimately from Hebrew לוֹט (lōṭ, “myrrh”, literally “covering, envelope”).

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA: /ˈloʊtəs/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈləʊtəs/
  • Audio (Southern England): 🔊
  • Audio (US): 🔊
  • Rhymes: -əʊtəs

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. 1979, Charlie King, “Vaguely Reminiscent of the Sixties (The Story)”: ↩

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