athanasia

[ ath-uh-ney-zhuh ]

noun

1. deathlessness; immortality.

Word History and Origins

Origin of athanasia¹

1820–30; < Greek athanasía, equivalent to athánat ( os ) deathless ( a- a- ⁶ + thánatos death) + -ia -ia, with ti > si

Example Sentences

I lifted my eyes: the veil had fallen—it was my lost Athanasia!

From Project Gutenberg

It was the scent of the garments of my Athanasia, as I had dreamed it in my dream!

From Project Gutenberg

More About Athanasia

What is athanasia?

Athanasia is deathlessness or immortality, as in The trouble with athanasia is that when you live forever, life can get pretty boring.

An uncommon term, athanasia refers to the inability to die or the possession of eternal life. Many ancient mythologies contain depictions of athanasia, especially Greek, which the term comes from. In some stories, especially those containing vampires, athanasia is an eternal youth. The vampire will never grow old or die of old age but can die in other ways. Athanasia is used in titles of games and fiction that deal with immortality. 

Athanasia is also used as a personal name, especially for Greek women, and is the name of a genus of flowering plants native to Africa. The plants have yellow flowers and are related to daisies.

Sometimes athanasia is used figuratively to mean an impossibly long time.

Example: Rachel kept expecting the lead character to die during the battle scenes, but apparently he has athanasia and walks away without a scratch.

Where does athanasia come from?

The first records of the term athanasia come from around the 1820s. It ultimately comes from the Greek athánatos, meaning “deathless.” In Greek, the root word thánatos means “death” and is also the root of the term euthanasia, meaning “mercy killing” or “painless death.” The eu- in this case means “good.” 

 The term athanasian is not used as athanasia’s adjective form despite its Greek linguistic roots. Athanasian is used instead to refer to something related to Athanasius of Alexandria, a Christian saint, and is capitalized.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to athanasia?

• athanasy (alternative spelling)

What are some synonyms for athanasia?

• deathlessness
• immortality

What are some words that share a root or word element with athanasia? 

• euthanasia
• tansy

What are some words that often get used in discussing athanasia?

• eternal
• forever
• life
• mythology
• survive

What are some words athanasia may be commonly confused with?

• euthanasia

How is athanasia used in real life?

Athanasia is normally used in mythology, folklore, or fiction to mean immortality.

In small quantities it's good for you. In large quantities it gives you brain damage. It was once believed to make you immortal, the word deriving from the Greek word for immortality (athanasia). Zeus gave Ganymede, his lover, tansy to make him immortal pic.twitter.com/Hhhp39dQlW

— Tansy Kelly Robson (@Artemisapphire) January 31, 2022

Tansy, the herb, derives from the Greek word "athanasia" meaning "deathless" (it's supposed to make you immortal. Zeus gave Ganymede tansy so he could could keep him as his lover)

— Tansy Kelly Robson (@Artemisapphire) May 2, 2022

Athanasia is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. The name is derived from the Greek a-, 'without', and thanatos 'death', alluding to the persistent dry involucral bracts.
-immortality.#WMMAP#Suddenlybecameaprincess #whomademeaprincess #athanasia#flower pic.twitter.com/im1HBdD1Ct

— Athanasia de alger Obelia (@propertyoflucas) April 30, 2021

 

 

Try using athanasia!

Is athanasia used correctly in the following sentence?

“Turtles can live so long that it might appear they have athanasia.”