Nectaries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Botanical features located in specific blossoms that generate a sugary liquid
2. Plant organs that release nectar, serving to entice various forms of pollinators
3. Specialized parts in flowers that secrete a sweet fluid to attract insects and birds

Etymology: "Nectaries" is the plural of "nectary", a botanical term for the gland-like structures in flowers that secrete nectar. The singular "nectary" is the form the noun takes for one such organ, and the plural simply adds the usual English "-ies" ending for nouns that end in a consonant plus "y". The base word "nectary" is built from "nectar", the sweet liquid that flowers produce to attract pollinators. Its own history goes back to the Greek "nektar", the drink of the gods in classical myth, and the botanical sense applies that ancient idea of a divine sweetness to a plant's own sugary secretion. Because "nectary" is a plant-anatomy term, its meaning is tied to what the organ does rather than to any mythological association.

Synonyms: nectar glands, honey-producing organs