narcissus

Narcissus usually refers to a spring flower, closely related to the daffodil, with bright blooms that are often yellow or white. In gardens and books about plants, the word is mainly used for the flower itself or for the group of flowers it belongs to.

The word also comes from Greek mythology. Narcissus was a beautiful young man who became trapped by the sight of his own reflection. That story gave English the later word narcissism. So if you see narcissus in everyday English, it most often means the flower, while in a mythological setting it can mean the young man from the story.

Narcissus has two main lives in English, and one is far more common than the other. Most often, it means a flowering plant in the daffodil group. These plants grow from bulbs and are loved for their fresh spring blooms, which are often yellow, white, or cream. In this sense, you might read about narcissus in gardening guides, seed catalogs, or nature writing.

The second meaning comes from Greek mythology. Narcissus was a handsome young man who saw his own reflection in water and became deeply taken with it. In many versions of the story, he died there, and a flower grew in his place. Because of that myth, the flower carries an old story inside its name.

This is also why English has the word narcissism. That later word is about unhealthy self-focus or too much admiration for oneself. But narcissus itself does not usually mean that trait. If you call something a narcissus in modern English, people will usually think first of the flower, or of the mythological figure if the context is clearly about Greek myth.

So the word moves between garden paths and old legend: a bright spring bloom on one side, and on the other, a young man whose story became a warning about self-absorption.