pothos

Etymology

From translingual Pothos, the genus name. The similarity to Ancient Greek Πόθος (Póthos), the name of one of Aphrodite's erotes who was said to carry a vine (from πόθος (póthos, “yearning, desire”)) is noted; however, other references give the origin as Sinhalese පෝටා වැල් (pōṭā wæl).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /pʰoʊ.θoʊs/

Noun

pothos (countable and uncountable, plural pothos or pothoses)

Any vine of species Epipremnum aureum, widely cultivated as a houseplant, once classified in the genus Pothos.
- 2009 February 2, Kenyon Wallace, “A factory fitted for a green future”, in Toronto Star‎:
  Vines of golden pothos climb the steel support beams.
Any plant in the genus Pothos; a genus of plants consisting of subtropical and tropical, climbing, flowering vines, indigenous to the environs of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.