lotusland

noun

lo·​tus·​land ˈlō-təs-ˌland 

1

: a place inducing contentment especially through offering an idyllic living situation

2

: a state or an ideal marked by contentment often achieved through self-indulgence

Did you know?

In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his men discover a magical land of lotus-eaters. Some of the sailors eat the delicious "lotus" and forget about their homeland, pleading to stay forever in this "lotusland." (It is likely that the lotus in question was the fruit of a real plant of the buckthorn family, perhaps the jujube, whose sweet juice is used in candy making and which has given its name to a popular fruity candy.) The label "lotusland" is now applied to any place resembling such an ideal of perfection, but it also carries connotations of indolence and self-indulgence, possibly derived from the way the sailors refused to work once they reached the original lotusland. The dreamy unreality of a lotusland is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.

Synonyms

• Camelot
• Cockaigne
• Eden
• Elysium
• empyrean
• fantasyland
• heaven
• never-never land
• New Jerusalem
• nirvana
• paradise
• promised land
• Shangri-la
• utopia
• Zion
• Sion

Examples of lotusland in a Sentence

the tropical resort's advertising depicts it as a lotusland of luxury and indolence

Word History

Etymology

from the Homeric land of lotus-eaters

First Known Use

1856, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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