ambrosia

noun

1. (Greek, Roman, countable, uncountable)The food of the gods, thought to confer immortality.

   “He had a most intense admiration of female loveliness, and looked upon woman as a kind of super-angelic being, whose food should be the ambrosiæ and nectar of the gods, and whose garments the spotless white of vestal purity.”

2. (Greek, Roman, countable, uncountable)The anointing-oil of the gods.
3. (countable, uncountable)Any food with an especially delicious flavour or fragrance.
4. (countable, uncountable)Anything delightfully sweet and pleasing.

   “A favorite. It’s refreshing now and will evolve into golden ambrosia with age. […] The dessert wines of the Loire Valley and AJsace also deserve recognition. From the Anjou area of the Loire come the ambrosiae of Savennières, Bonnezeaux, and Quarts de Chaume.”

5. (countable, uncountable)An annual herb historically used medicinally and in cooking, Dysphania botrys.
6. (countable, uncountable)A mixture of nectar and pollen prepared by worker bees and fed to larvae.
7. (countable, uncountable)Any fungus of a number of species that insects such as ambrosia beetles carry as symbionts, "farming" them on poor-quality food such as wood, where they grow, providing food for the insect.
8. (countable, uncountable)A dessert originating in the Southern United States made of shredded coconuts and tropical fruits such as pineapples and oranges; some recipes also include ingredients such as marshmallow and cream.
9. (countable, uncountable)A plant of the genus Ambrosia.

   “Their disease does not appear before August. At this time, throughout the entire United States one could say, not only in every field, in every meadow and in every forest, but even in the largest cities, there blooms the ambrosiæ, which are commonly known as ragweed; […]”

   “Section G: The Collector’s corner, Mrs. J. R. Cowan, blue, for her ambrosiae.”

   “Once again there can be heard throughout the eastern part of the country the stacatto^([sic]) sneezing, the hacking cough and the stuffy head of the hay fever patient, for ragweed season is upon us. As it does each year, about the fifteenth of August, plants of the group called ambrosiae spread their pollens to the wind and the misery begins.”