# Xenia

/ˈziniə/ (US) · /zˈiːniɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/xenia
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. the ancient Greek code of hospitality

noun · CEFR C2 · Academic

the ancient Greek rule that a host must welcome, feed and protect any stranger who arrives — and that the guest must repay that welcome with good manners and a parting gift.

For teachers: the ancient Greek institution of ritualised guest-friendship: a reciprocal bond of hospitality, gift-exchange and mutual obligation between host and guest, held sacred under the protection of Zeus Xenios.

- In Homer's world, xenia binds host and guest alike.
- The Phaeacians bathe Odysseus, feast him and send him home laden with treasure — xenia performed to the letter, and the last kindness he receives before Ithaca.

Usage: Xenia is uncountable: write "the rules of xenia" or "an act of xenia", never "a xenia". You will meet it mostly in writing about Homer, ancient Greece and classical literature.

Teaching tip: Students meet this word in literature and history long before they meet it anywhere else. Teach it next to "xenophobia" — same Greek root, opposite instinct — and both tend to stick.

### 2. in plant breeding

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

the effect that pollen from one plant has on the seed it fertilises — the father plant's influence shows in that same season's seeds, not in the next generation.

For teachers: the immediate effect of foreign pollen on the endosperm of the seed it fertilises, so that the influence of the male parent is visible in the current generation rather than the following one.

- Xenia explains why one ear of corn can carry mixed-coloured kernels.
- Sweetcorn growers isolate their fields because xenia from a neighbouring crop of field corn will turn the kernels starchy in the same harvest.

Usage: Keep xenia for the effect on the seed itself. The related term "metaxenia" covers the effect of pollen on the surrounding fruit tissue.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The Greeks had many xenias for their guests." but "The Greeks had many customs of xenia for their guests." — Xenia has no plural and takes no "a". When you need to count, count the customs, rules or acts — not the xenia.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.