consul

From Middle English consul, from Old English consul, from Latin cōnsul.

konsull

official who protects the interests of citizens

(historical) Either of the two heads of government and state of the Roman Republic or the equivalent nominal post under the Roman and Byzantine Empires.

قُنْصُل

either of the two highest-ranking officials of the Roman republic

early modern councilmen of southern France and Catalonia


panther

From Middle English panter, panther, pantere, from Old French pantere, from Latin panthēra, from Ancient Greek πάνθηρ (pánthēr, “panther”).

der

(mythology, heraldry) A creature resembling a big cat, typically incensed (“emitting fire”), and often having a multicolored hide, found in Ancient Greek mythology and in medieval and later heraldry (in which its depiction sometimes approaches that of a horse).


tet

en-noun

tet (countable and uncountable, plural tets)

(uncountable, informal, medicine) The tetralogy of Fallot.

(countable, informal, medicine) A patient with tetralogy of Fallot.


tribune

From Middle English tribune, from Old French tribun, tribune, from Latin tribunus (“tribune, tribal leader”), from tribus (“tribe”).

der

tribune of the plebs
tribune of the plebs

(historical) An elected official in Ancient Rome, a tribune of the plebs.


oecus

Borrowed from Latin oecus, from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”).

(history) An apartment, room, or hall in an ancient Roman dwelling house.


Hittite

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-Hittite.wav

From Biblical Hebrew חִתִּי (ḥittî), from Hittite 𒄩𒋾 (ḫati), perhaps ultimately an exonym related to Hatti. In reference to the Indo-European-speaking people of Asia Minor (as opposed to the Biblical Hittites), this term was first used in the early 20th century in confusion with the neighboring Hattites (Hattic) whose language was recorded in discovered texts as [script needed] (ḫattili). It is now known that the Hittites called themselves 𒉈𒋗𒈨𒉌𒌍 (ne-šu-me-né-eš /nešumeneš/, “people from the city of Nesha”), hence the much less used alternative name Nesite or Neshite.

The study of the main body of Hittite texts was intrusted^([sic]) to the Austrian scholar Hrozny, who in 1915 published a preliminary account of his results[…]

1920, Carl D. Buck, “Hittite an Indo-European Language?”, in Classical Philology, volume 15, number 2, →DOI, page 185:

An ancient Indo-European language of the Anatolian branch, attested from the 16th century BC until the 13th century BC.


Osiris

(Egyptian mythology) The Egyptian god of the dead and of the underworld.


demiurge

From Ancient Greek δημιουργός (dēmiourgós, “one who works for the people; a skilled workman, a handicraftsman”) (whence Latin dēmiūrgus, French démiurge), from δήμιος (dḗmios, “belonging to the people, public”) (from δῆμος (dêmos, “the people”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂mos (“people”), from *deh₂- (“to divide”) + Ancient Greek -ιος (-ios), from Proto-Indo-European *-yós (suffix creating an adjective from a noun)) + Ancient Greek -ουργός (-ourgós, “worker”) (from ἔργον (érgon, “labour; task; work”), from Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom (“work”)).
No relation with English demi- (as in demigod).

The demiurgi were next in power to the prætor, and therefore ſtiled by Polybius and Livy, the ſupreme magiſtrates of the Achæans. They were ten in number, choſen by the general aſſembly from among the moſt eminent men of the whole league for prudence, equity, and experience. It was their office to aſſiſt, with their advice, the prætor, who was to ſay nothing before the aſſembly, but what had been previouſly approved of by the major part of the demiurgi.

1747, George Sale et al., “Sect. III. The History of the Several States of Greece, from the Beginning of the Achæan League to Its Dissolution, and thence Succinctly to the Present Time”, in An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time. […], 2nd edition, volume VII, London: Printed for T[homas] Osborne, […]; A[ndrew] Millar, […]; and J. Osborn, […], →OCLC, book II (The Grecian and Asiatic History), chapter I (The History of Sparta, from Lycurgus, to Its Being Joined by Philpœmen to the Achæans), page 225:

An important Cyrenean inscription of the 4th century, defines the functions of the demiurgi in a given situation and adds that they are discharged by these magistrates in the cities (of Libya), by the hellenodikai in the Temple of Zeus Olympios (i.e. in Olympia), by the amphiktyons at Delphi, and by the hieromnamones in the Temple of Zeus Lykaios (the Lyceum of Arcadia).

1979, Shimon Applebaum, “The Greek Colonization”, in Jews and Greeks in Ancient Cyrene (Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity; 28), Leiden: E. J. Brill, →ISBN, page 39:

(historical, Ancient Greece) The title of a magistrate in a number of states of Ancient Greece, and in the city states (poleis) of the Achaean League.


Golden Fleece

[ˈɡɒʊ̯ɫ.dn̩ ˈfliːs]

(Greek mythology) A magical fleece from a winged ram guarded by the hydra in the tale of Jason and the Argonauts.


Athenian

From Latin athēniēnsis; compare Middle English Athenyensis pl and Old English Athēniense pl. By surface analysis, Athens + ian.

(Greek mythology) Of or related to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, technology, and skillful warfare.


Pleiades

From Latin Pleiades, from Ancient Greek Πλειάδες (Pleiádes). In the astronomical sense, displaced Old English seofonstierre (literally “the seven stars”).

ncog

(Greek mythology) The "seven sisters", companions of Artemis and daughters of the Titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione.


Pollux

From Latin Pollūx, from Ancient Greek Πολυδεύκης (Poludeúkēs).

(Greek mythology) One of the Dioscuri, son of Zeus and Leda, brother of Castor.


Hyades

From Middle English Hyades, Yades, from Latin Hyades, from Ancient Greek Ὑάδες (Huádes), nominative and vocative plural of Ὑ̄̆ᾰ́ς (Hū̆ắs, “one of the Hyades”).

(Greek mythology) Daughters of the Titan Atlas and sisters of the Pleiades.


Proto-Greek

The earliest form of the Greek language, the common ancestor of the Greek dialects, including Mycenaean and the classical Greek dialects.


Pterelas

(Greek mythology) King of the Teleboans in Plautus' Amphitruo.


Hellen

(Greek mythology) the mythological patriarch of the Hellenes, the son of Deucalion (or sometimes Zeus) and Pyrrha, brother of Amphictyon and father of Aeolus, Xuthus, and Dorus


Ahriman

Derived from Classical Persian اَهْریمَن (ahrēman) or Iranian Persian اَهْریمَن (ahriman), from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 (ʾḥlmny /ahreman/), from Avestan 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 (aŋra.maⁱniiu), compound of 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀 (aŋra, “destruction, destructive”) and 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 (maⁱniiu, “spirit, mind, essence, emanation etc.”). Definable through the antithetical 𐬀𐬨𐬆𐬱𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 (aməša.maⁱniiu, “bounteous spirit”). Doublet of Angra Mainyu.

der

𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎

[A]midst Ahriman and his hosts who had now established themselves in the Occident, and as heirs to the horns and tails of Pans and fauns, a crowd of native spirits moved; imps, giants, trolls, forest-spirits, elves and hobgoblins in and on the earth; nicks, river-sprites in the water, fiends in the air, and salamanders in the fire.

1879, Viktor Rydberg, “The Magic of the People and the Struggle of the Church against It”, in August Hjalmar Edgren, transl., The Magic of the Middle Ages: Translated from the Swedish, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 201:

The hypostasis of chaos, destruction, evil in Zoroastrianism.

أَهْرِيمَان

the hypostasis of chaos, destruction, evil in Zoroastrianism


Mithraism

Translation (1903) of French mithriacisme, as used in 1899 by Franz Cumont as shorthand for "mystères de Mithra". Cumont was convinced that Mithraism was "Roman Mazdaism", hence his (and earlier) treatments of Latin Mithras and Avestan Mithra as synonyms, and the continuing de-inflection of the Latin name (vocative) as French Mithra.

It has left many monuments of itself here in Britain. At Rome the worship was extremely popular, and it may almost be said to have been a matter of chance whether Mithraism should overwhelm Christianity, or whether the younger religion by adopting many of the rites of the older one should establish itself (as it did) in the face of the latter.

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 41:

"Confirmation is mithraism. So is baptism, only it was blood instead of water. As to the sacrificial meal..." Mason put his fingers in his ears.

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

An astrology-based, middle-platonic mystery religion of the 1st-4th century Roman Empire that claimed to have been founded by Zoroaster, admitted only men, and was especially popular among the Roman military.


Mithras

Learned borrowing from Latin Mithras. Doublet of Mehr, mitre, and Mitra.

A Roman god, cult figure of the 2nd-to-4th-century Roman mystery religion known as the "Mysteries of Mithras" (now colloquially Mithraism)


Ceto

From Ancient Greek Κητώ (Kētṓ); see also κῆτος (kêtos, “sea monster”). Compare Cetus.

(Greek mythology) A primordial sea goddess, wife of Phorcys and mother of numerous monsters including Echidna and the gorgons.


Cepheus

(Greek mythology) Husband of Cassiopeia, king of Eritrea, father of Andromeda. There may be two mythical kings by this name.


Cassiopeia

kăs′ē-ō-pē′yə

From Latin Cassiopēia, from Ancient Greek Κασσιόπεια (Kassiópeia) or Κασσιόπη (Kassiópē).

(Greek mythology) Proud wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda, queen of Ethiopia. When she boasted that her beauty was equal to that of the Nereids, she was punished by Poseidon.


quadrat

Attested since 1683. Possibly from French cadrat or Italian quadrato (“square”), from Latin quadrātum (“square”). Doublet of quadrate and of etymology 1 above. So called because the basic quadrat, the em quadrat, has a square face, having the same width as the height of a line of type.

(Egyptology) A virtual rectangular subdivision of a line or column of hieroglyphs within which a group of hieroglyphs is arranged.


quadrans

From Latin quadrāns. Doublet of quadrant.

A bronze coin of the Roman republic worth one quarter of an as.


pschent

From Ancient Greek ψχέντ (pskhént), from Late Egyptian pꜣ-sḫmtj (“the two powerful ones”), from pꜣ (“definite article”) + sḫmtj, dual of sḫmt (“powerful one”), from sḫm (“to be powerful, to have power over”).

In his left eye flashes the monocle of Cashel Boyle O’Conner Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell. On his head is perched an Egyptian pshent. Two quills project over his ears.

[…] a tall, slim figure with the young face of an antique Pharaoh, gay with prismatic robes and crowned with a golden pshent that glowed with inherent light.

1943, H. P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath:

The double crown of ancient Egypt, combining the white crown of Upper Egypt with the red crown of Lower Egypt, worn by pharaohs after the union of the two kingdoms in around 3000 BC.


Minoan

Sir Arthur Evans, not knowing the Minoan term for “Minoan” at the time, coined this name in the early 20th century, from Ancient Greek Μίνως (Mínōs), the mythical king of Crete. The actual name is probably reflected in Egyptian kftjw (perhaps reconstructible as *Káftayu) and Biblical Hebrew כַּפְתּוֹר (Kaftor, “Caphthor”).


Tell el-Amarna

Modern site of the ancient city of Akhetaten in Egypt, built by Akhenaten in honor of the Egyptian deity Aten.


Fornax

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Originally called Fornāx Chemica,
From the Latin for "chemical furnace".

(Roman mythology) The Roman goddess of ovens.


Apollonian

/æpəˈləʊnɪ.ən/

From Latin Apollō (Apollōn-) + -ian and Apollonius/Apollonia + -an.

You have your lovers - dusky beaus / Not made of the poetic stuff / That sports an Apollonian nose, / And wears a sleek Byronic cuff.

1877, Henry Kendall, “Ode to a Black Gin”, in The Australian Town and Country Journal, page 24:

The forces of nature is a major theme embodied in the two main goddess characters. The "northern woman" is Appollonian ^([sic]) in her nature — cold, reserved, quiet, identified with the moon; the "southern woman" is Dionysian — passionate, a sun goddess.

1979 August 4, Linda Stein, “Stopping Short of Self-Awareness”, in Gay Community News, page 18:

Marty and I often discussed the choice we all have in controlling our cognition. We referred to harnessing this power as "the Apollonian state", after Apollo, the Greek god of the sun and light and truth. In the Apollonian state you could use reason to move away from despairing beliefs―it's never going to change, it's all my fault, there must be something wrong with me―and towards more empowered thinking.

2021, Lisa Miller, The Awakened Brain, Ch.2, at p.37

(Greek mythology) Of or relating to the ancient Olympian Greek God Apollo.


Horologium

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Horologium.wav

Christian Huygens
Horologium (constellation)
Horologium Oscillitorium
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Solarium Augusti
Tower of the Winds

See horologium. As a location in Rome, a clipping of Latin Hōrologium Augustī (“Sundial of Augustus”). As a constellation, a clipping of Latin Hōrologium Oscillitorium (“Pendulum Clock”), coined in 1763 by the French astronomer De Lacaille to honor the Dutch astronomer and mathematician Christian Huygens, who had written a major work by that name.

bor

(historical) Synonym of Solarium, a monument in ancient Rome whose obelisk was once believed to have acted as a sundial gnomon.


sesterce

From Latin sēstertius (“two-and-a-half (asses)”).

Among the people (of Rome) beſide x. modij of corne, & as many pints of oyle, he diſtributed & dealt 300 Seſterces alſo by the poll, vvhich hee had in times paſt promiſed, vvith an overdeale of 100. a peece to boote, for time.

1606, Caius [i.e., Gaius] Suetonius Tranquillus, “The Historie of Caius Iulius Cesar Dictator”, in Philêmon Holland, transl., The Historie of Twelve Cæsars Emperours of Rome. […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes and George Snowdon] for Matthew Lownes, →OCLC, section 38, page 16:

Nonius the senator hath a purple coat as stiff with jewels as his mind is full of vices; rings on his fingers worth 20,000 sesterces […]

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 3:

For him I must convert one of my sheep or goats to sesterces and slaughter another for his entertainment.

1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:


Canopus

(Greek mythology) The pilot of King Menelaus's ship in the Iliad.


Plutonian

en-adj

Plutonian (comparative more Plutonian, superlative most Plutonian)

more Plutonian (comparative)
most Plutonian (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Latin Plūtōnius (“of or relating to Pluto, Greek and Roman god of the underworld”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives). Plūtōnius is from Ancient Greek Πλουτώνιος (Ploutṓnios, “of or relating to Pluto”), from Πλούτων (Ploútōn, “Pluto”) (from πλοῦτος (ploûtos, “riches, wealth”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plew- (“to fly; to flow; to run”)) + -ων (-ōn)) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives). The English word is cognate with Middle French plutonien (modern French plutonien). The noun is derived from the adjective.

plutonien

of, pertaining to, or supporting plutonism — see also Plutonic

[…] he through the midſt unmarkt, / In ſhew Plebeian Angel militant / Of loweſt order, paſt; and from the dore / Of that Plutonian Hall, inviſible / Aſcended his high Throne, […]

1674, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], 2nd edition, London: […] S[amuel] Simmons […], →OCLC, page 264:

["]Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore— / Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" / Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y., London: Wiley & Putnam, […], →OCLC, page 144:

You rise by candle-light or gaslight, swearing / There never was a climate made like ours; / If rashly you go out to take an airing, / The soot-flakes come in black Plutonian show'rs.

1882 December 30, “A London Fog”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume 83, London: Published at the office, 85, Fleet Street, →OCLC, page 301, column 1:

Cotopaxi is striking not only because it looks like a science fiction conception of another planet; it also is the least realistic among [Frederic Edwin] Church's paintings of the area. […] Below the fiery sun is a lake with a barren shore. As such, the sun hangs over a Plutonian landscape.

2008, Rodrigo Lazo, “The Ends of Enchantment: Douglass, Melville, and U.S. Expansionism in the Americas”, in Robert S[teven] Levine, Samuel Otter, editors, Frederick Douglass & Herman Melville: Essays in Relation, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, part I (Literary and Cultural Geographies), page 210:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Of or relating to Pluto, the Greek and Roman god of the underworld; demonic, infernal.

Plutoniin liittyvä

of or relating to Pluto, the Greek and Roman god of the underworld


Plutonian

From Pluto (“dwarf planet in the Solar System”) + -n- + -ian (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘from, related to, or like’, or nouns meaning ‘one belonging to, relating to, or like’), probably influenced by Plutonian (“of or relating to Pluto, Greek and Roman god of the underworld”) (see etymology 1).

affix

Another and perhaps more Plutonian view of this would be that David's bondage to his mother and the codes of behaviour which she set for him had extended throughout his life, in both profes[s]ional and personal spheres; and that bondage now had an opportunity of loosening, with all the attendant consequences.

1985, Liz Greene, “Fate and Synchronicity”, in The Astrology of Fate, Boston, Mass.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, →ISBN, page 293:

The notion of toxicity is a useful one in our effort to understand the further implications of Pluto in the USA chart. [...] Factor in what we have learned about the second house and we get another meaning of waste, related but distinctly more Plutonian: debris that poses an elimination problem once its value has been used up.

2006 October 6, Jessica Murray, “Power Madness: Pluto and American Hegemony”, in Soul-sick Nation: An Astrologer’s View of America, Bloomington, Ind., Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 41:

(astrology) Pertaining to the astrological influence of Pluto, formerly regarded as a planet.

Plutoon liittyvä

pertaining to the astrological influence of Pluto, formerly regarded as a planet

Burl studied the captured Plutonian hand weapons, and was pleased to have one of the Neptunian soldiers pick one up and demonstrate how it was fired. It had apparently simpler controls than most Plutonian products, for it easily blazed forth a bolt of electronic fire that blasted a tall, crystalline tree to shards.

1959, Donald A[llen] Wollheim, “The Museum of Galactic Life”, in Cecile Matschat, editor, The Secret of the Ninth Planet (A Science Fiction Novel), Philadelphia, Pa.: John C. Winston Co., →OCLC; republished in The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack, [Rockville, Md.]: Wildside Press, 2012, →ISBN:

Roure did not carry his work to completion. He derived only four intermediate orbits of Pluto for the combinations of Pluto and the four outer planets, and determined the inequalities in the Plutonian motion under the effect of Neptune which are dependent on the first degree of Plutonian eccentricity and inclination.

1969 January, Sh. G. Sharaf, “Introduction”, in Theory of Motion of the Planet Pluto: Part One. Plutonian Perturbations of the First Order with Respect to Perturbing Masses: […] (NASA Technical Translations; NASA TT F-490), Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, →OCLC, page 4:

[Gerard] Kuiper (1944) searched for spectroscopic evidence of an atmosphere around Pluto as part of the same program that discovered CH₄ on Titan. Because of the difficulty of observing an object as faint as Pluto, no useful results were obtained; however, Kuiper presented arguments in favor of a Plutonian atmosphere based on the stability of the atmosphere against loss to space.

1997, Roger V. Yelle, James L[udlow] Elliot, “Atmospheric Structure and Composition: Pluto and Charon”, in S[ol] Alan Stern, David J[ames] Tholen, editors, Pluto and Charon (Space Science series), Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, part IV (Atmospheres), page 347:

[James Walter] Christy also knew that 6.39 days is the exact period of time that it takes Pluto to make one complete turn around its axis—the length of a Plutonian day.

2010, Kristi Lew, “Pluto’s Structure and Features”, in Karen Ang, editor, The Dwarf Planet Pluto (Space!), Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, →ISBN, page 31:

(astronomy) Of or relating to the dwarf planet Pluto.

plutondar

of or relating to the dwarf planet Pluto


Plutonian

If you are a Plutonian and some of these traits emphatically do not fit you, just let them go and take what is helpful and descriptive of you personally. What will be given is a composite picture, based on working with a great many Plutonians over the years. Plutonians who are negatively inclined are often very guarded and rigid, afraid to let others get close. [...] There are Plutonians who operate predominantly on the positive level—healing, transforming, transmuting themselves and those around them.

1986, Donna Cunningham, “The Personality and Character of the Plutonian”, in Healing Pluto Problems, Boston, Mass.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, →ISBN, page 28:

(astrology) A person under the astrological influence of Pluto, formerly regarded as a planet.

The Plutonians, who are almost extinct, once held a superscience that they have largely lost. Early Plutonian visits to Earth survived in folk memory as the devil, since Plutonians are gigantic, with horns, hooves, and tail.

1998, Everett F[ranklin] Bleiler, Richard Bleiler, “[Story Descriptions.] 1423. THE EARTHMAN’S BURDEN. Astounding Stories, June 1931, Ill. Paul.”, in Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years: A Complete Coverage of the Genre Magazines Amazing, Astounding, Wonder, and Others from 1926 through 1936, Kent, Oh., London: Kent State University Press, →ISBN, page 409, column 1:

(chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of the dwarf planet Pluto.


Enceladus

From Latin Enceladus, from Ancient Greek Ἐγκέλαδος (Enkélados).

(Greek mythology) A giant in Greek mythology.


Wadjet

Borrowed from Egyptian wAD-t-I12 (wꜣḏt, “Wadjet”, literally “green one”), an allusion to the skin of the cobra. Doublet of Buto.

bor+

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">wꜣḏt</i>

(Egyptian mythology) The patron goddess and namesake of the Ancient Egyptian city of Per-Wadjet, known as Buto to the Greeks. Wadjet takes the form of a cobra and is associated with the Eye of Horus.


adytum

Borrowed from Latin adytum, from Ancient Greek ἄδυτον (áduton, “innermost sanctuary; shrine”), inflected form of ἄδυτος (ádutos, “not to be entered”).

der

Let us now with minds free of paſſion, enter the adytum with an intent to find out its true figure, to examine what it really was, and what it is. […] This point is properly the door-way or entrance into the adytum, as a wicket or little door, whilſt the jambs of the hithermoſt trilithons preſent themſelves, as the greater door, of about 40 feet wide, 25 cubits. […] [T]he more ſacred part of the temple at Hierapolis anſwering to our Adytum, had no door, tho' none enter'd therein but the chief prieſts.

1740, William Stukeley, “Of the Cell or Adytum of Stonehenge. Of the Surgeons Amphitheater, London.”, in Stonehenge: A Temple Restor’d to the British Druids, London: Printed for W. Innys and R. Manby, […], →OCLC, page 23:

At the diſtance of about forty ſtadia from this temple of Æſculapius, there is an incloſure; and in it there is an adytum ſacred to Iſis. This is the moſt holy of every thing which the Greeks conſecrate to this goddeſs. For the Tithoreans neither think it proper to take up their reſidence there, nor to ſuffer any to enter the adytum, except ſuch as the goddeſs Iſis informs them by a dream ſhe thinks proper to admit.

1794, Pausanias, chapter XXXII, in [Thomas Taylor], transl., The Description of Greece, by Pausanias. Translated from the Greek. […] In Three Volumes, volume III, London: Printed for R. Faulder, […], →OCLC, book X (Phocics), pages 195–196:

(Ancient Greece, religion) The innermost sanctuary or shrine in a temple, from where oracles were given.

àditon

innermost sanctuary or shrine in an ancient temple


Alcmene

From Latin Alcmēnē, from Ancient Greek Ἀλκμήνη (Alkmḗnē).

(Greek mythology) Descendant of Perseus and Andromeda, the wife of Amphitryon, and mother, by Zeus, of Heracles/Hercules.

Ալկմենե

the wife of Amphitryon and mother, by Zeus, of Heracles


sextans

(Ancient Rome) A Roman coin worth one sixth of an as.


mastaba

Borrowed from Arabic مَصْطَبَة (maṣṭaba).

bor+

A wooden shutter which closes down at night-time, and by day two palm-stick stools intensely dirty and full of fleas, occupying the place of the Mastabah or earthern bench, which accomodated[sic] purchasers, complete the furniture of my preceptor's establishment.

1855, Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah, Dover, published 1963, page 68:

A wide stone bench built into the wall of a house, shop etc. in the Middle East.


Anthea

From Ancient Greek ἄνθη (ánthē, “blossom”).

(Greek mythology) The epithet of the Greek goddess Hera


moly

en-noun

moly (countable and uncountable, plural molies)

From Latin mōly, from Ancient Greek μῶλυ (môlu) (probably a loanword).

It excels Homers moly, cures this, falling sickness, and almost all other infirmities.

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 4, member 1, subsection iii:

Or, propt on beds of amaranth and moly, / How sweet (while warm airs lull us, blowing lowly,)

1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The Lotos-Eaters”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 114:

So spoke the Radiant One; then gave me the magic herb, pulling it from the ground and showing me in what form it grew; its root was black, its flower milk-white. Its name among the gods is moly.

1980, Homer, translated by Walter Shrewing, The Odyssey, Oxford, published 1998, page 120:

I would need all the secret herbs of Dicte […] . I would need as well the rest of my moly stores.

2018, Madeline Miller, Circe, Bloomsbury 2019, p. 113

(Greek mythology) A magic herb or plant used by Odysseus to overcome Circe.


sistrum

Borrowed from Latin sīstrum, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek σεῖστρον (seîstron), from σείω (seíō, “shake”).

She moved with slow undulations of her body as lascivious as the curve of Hathfertiti’s hair, and the sistrum with its singing wires was played by a dwarf wearing nothing but a gold purse and a few bracelets on his stunted biceps.

An ancient Egyptian musical instrument, to be shaken, consisting of a metal frame holding percussive metal beads.


Babylonia

/ˌbæbɪˈləʊnɪə/

Borrowed from Latin Babylonia, from Ancient Greek Βαβυλωνία (Babulōnía), from Βαβυλων (Babulōn, “Babylon”) + -ία (-ía, forming place names for areas).

(historical) The realm of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), the Babylonian Empire.

Babilonia

ancient region and empire of southern Mesopotamia

Chaldea

empire; in reference to the 2nd Babylonian Empire


Assyria

Learned borrowing from Latin Assyria, from Ancient Greek Ἀσσυρία (Assuría), from Akkadian 𒀾𒋗𒊏𒅀 (Aššūrāyu), from 𒀸𒋩𒆠 (Aššūr, “Assur”), its original capital. Doublet of Syria.

A Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant from the mid-23rd century BC to 608 BC and centred on the Upper Tigris river in northern Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq), which came to rule regional empires a number of times through history.


syrinx

/sɪˈɹɪnd͡ʒiːz/

Learned borrowing from Latin sȳrinx (“reed; reed pipe, panpipes”), from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (sûrinx, “panpipes; pipe-shaped object”), from Pre-Greek. Doublet of syringe.
The plural form syringes is a learned borrowing from Latin sȳringes.

der

And novv vvhen the people of all ſorts came flocking to the Court, in a tumultuous manner, Agathocles [grandson of Agathocles of Syracuse], taking the King vvith him, vvent and hid himſelf, in a place called Syringes, vvhich vvas a gallery or vvalk, vvhich had every vvay three vvalls and gates to paſſe, before one could come unto it.

1658, James Ussher, “The Sixth Age of the World. [The Macedonian Empire.]”, in The Annals of the World. […], London: […] E[van] Tyler, for J[ohn] Crook, […], and for G[abriel] Bedell, […], →OCLC, page 374:

The Former of theſe Tvvo Hermes [i.e., the god Thoth], vvas the Inventor of Arts and Sciences, the Latter [Siphoas], the Reſtorer and Advancer of them: the Firſt vvrote in Hieroglyphicks upon Pillars, ἐν τῆ Συριγγικῆ γῆ [in the land of Syringes] (as the learned Valeſius conjectures it ſhould be read, instead of Σηριαδικῆ.) VVhich Syringes vvhat they vvere, Am[mianus] Marcellinus vvill inſtruct us; […]

1678, R[alph] Cudworth, chapter IV, in The True Intellectual System of the Universe: The First Part; wherein All the Reason and Philosophy of Atheism is Confuted; and Its Impossibility Demonstrated, London: […] Richard Royston, […], →OCLC, page 322:

There are alſo (in Egypt) Syrinxes, certain ſubterraneous and vvinding receſſes, vvhich (as it is ſaid) men skilled in antient rites, foreknovving the coming of the deluge, and fearing that the memory of their ceremonies ſhould be blotted out, hevved and faſhioned out of quarries in ſeveral places, vvith immenſe labour, and carved on the vvalls vvhich they had ſo hevvn, many kinds of fovvls, and vvild beaſts, and figures of animals innumerable, vvhich they called hieroglyphick (ſo ſome read the text) or ſacred characters.

1733, [Patrick Delany], “Dissertation XIV. Of Other Testimonies Relating to the Deluge.”, in Revelation Examined with Candour. Or, A Fair Enquiry into the Sense and use of the Several Revelations Expressly Declared, or Sufficiently Implied, to be Given to Mankind from the Creation, as They are Found in the Bible. […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, pages 247–248:

Further the Ramesseion (the Osmandyeion of the Descript.) with the alley of sphinxes, the Menephtheion (palace at Kurnah) and other monuments as late as Ptolemy the First's time. Grottoes and syrinxes all around.

1850, C. O. Müller [i.e., Karl Otfried Müller], F[riedrich] G[ottlieb] Welcker, “History of Art in Antiquity. Appendix. The Nations Not of Greek Race.”, in John Leitch, transl., Ancient Art and Its Remains; or A Manual of the Archæology of Art. […], new edition, London: A[rchibald] Fullarton and Co., […], →OCLC, note 3, page 216:

(archaeology, Egyptology) Chiefly in the plural: a narrow channel cut in rock, especially in Ancient Egyptian burial chambers.

Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian#Adjective


triclinium

en-noun

triclinium (plural tricliniums or triclinia)

Latin trīclīnium, from Ancient Greek τρικλίνιον (triklínion).

Seated on the triclinium in the midst is a middle-aged man, with a high and noble brow; the fine aquiline nose, so patrician, as if their eagle had set his own seal on his warlike race;...

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 259:

(Ancient Rome) A couch for reclining at mealtimes, extending round three sides of a table, and usually in three parts.

(Ancient Rome) A dining room furnished with such a triple couch.


Palladian

From Latin Palladius (“of or relating to Pallas”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). Palladius is derived from Pallas (from Ancient Greek Παλλάς (Pallás), genitive Παλλάδος (Palládos), an epithet of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom) + -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns).

suffix

[I]f in this the moſt conſummat act of his fidelity and ripeneſſe, no years, no induſtry, no former proof of his abilities can bring him to that ſtate of maturity, as not to be ſtill miſtruſted and ſuſpected, unleſſe he carry all his conſiderat diligence, all his midnight watchings, and expence of Palladian oyl, to the haſty view of an unleaſur'd licencer, perhaps much his younger, perhaps far his inferiour in judgement, [...]

1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 21:

I dwell upon this point, in the view of explaining and, as to one letter, correcting a memorable passage of Sophocles concerning the Palladian olive tree; in which he says, that it is a plant, preserved by Jove and Athena, in order to confound the enemies of Athens, and adds "that no man, young or old, (i.e. now or ever,) shall render it vain and of none effect, by pointing it out with his finger to the Persians."

1828, [Algernon Herbert], “Ba-bel”, in Nimrod: A Discourse on Certain Passages of History and Fable, volume I, London: Printed for Richard Priestley, →OCLC, pages 192–193:

She threw forward her arms, as if with spear and buckler. Miss Barfoot was smiling at this Palladian attitude when a servant announced two ladies, Mrs. Smallbrook and Miss Haven.

1893, George Gissing, “A Camp of the Reserve”, in The Odd Women […], volume I, London: Lawrence & Bullen […], →OCLC, page 145:

the figure for Palladian wisdom and chastity

2001, Charles Dempsey, Inventing the Renaissance Putto, University of North Carolina Press, page 176:

Where mentioned at all in historical discussions it [Elizabethan drama] is typically in passing, with the primary focus either on the continuity that Tudor drama has with the medieval folk drama, or simply on that drama itself, as virtually a Palladian birth in the reign of Elizabeth [I], fathered indeed by the great Zeus of the Renaissance [William Shakespeare], as most commentators recognize, but in whose original inspiration the contribution of the discipline of rhetoric specifically is not apparently of special moment.

2004, Trevor McNeely, “Rhetoric, Theater, Poetry, and Shakespeare”, in Proteus Unmasked: Sixteenth-century Rhetoric and the Art of Shakespeare, Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University Press; Cranbury, N.J.; London: Associated University Presses, →ISBN, page 50:

(Greek mythology, rare) Of or relating to Pallas, an epithet of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and potentially to other female Greek figures such as Pallas the daughter of Triton and granddaughter of Poseidon.


uraeus

From Latin uraeus, from Ancient Greek οὐραῖος (ouraîos). This is traditionally assumed to be from Egyptian jꜥrt (“cobra in threat posture”), i-a:r:*t-I12, from jꜥr (“to rise, climb”); however, on phonetic grounds, Gundacker, following Fecht, argues for an origin in Egyptian wrrt (“White Crown, uraeus”, literally “the great one”) instead.

der

In front is an inlaid cobra, the Royal uræus, and around the band are attached 15 rosettes, each composed of four flowers and four leaves of openwork inlaid.

even a fair amount of the gold His caravans returned from the Granite Mountains near the Red Sea, were now being fashioned by royal artisans into amulets, breast pieces, gold collars, bracelets, scarabs, uraei, even gold and silver shabti […].

In the small chamber opposite are Isis and Selket, and Nefertari's cartouche between two uraeuses.

A representation of the sacred asp, symbolising supreme power in ancient Egypt.


nymphaeum

en-noun

nymphaeum (plural nymphaeums or nymphaea)

The root word is Ancient Greek νύμφη (númphē), which anciently, from prehistory, could mean “bride” or a special type of “goddess”: of mountains, trees, springs or meadows. Its appearance in Latin nymph- is a Hellenization, although Latin had its own derivatives from the Indo-European: nūpta (“bride”), nurus (“daughter-in-law”). In Classical Greek, an -ai- form referred to the goddess, becoming Latin -ae-, while an -ei- form referred to the bride, becoming Latin -ē-, but the Greek-speaking Romans, such as Pliny the Elder, confused the two. Thus Latin nymphaeum is from Greek nymphaion but Latin nymphēum is from νυμφεῖον (numpheîon), although they could be understood to have the same meaning.

(Ancient Greece, Roman Empire) An ancient Greek or Roman shrine consecrated to water nymphs, often with a fountain.


publican

From Middle English publican [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman publican, pupplican, Middle French publicain, and Old French publican, publicain, pupplican (“tax collector”) (modern French publicain), and from their etymon Latin pūblicānus (“tax collector”), from pūblicum (“state revenue”) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, usually indicating relationships of origin, position, or possession). Pūblicum is a noun use of the neuter form of pūblicus (“of or belonging to the people, state, or community; general, public”), ultimately from Proto-Italic *poplos (“army”), further etymology unknown.
Sense 3.2 (“person excommunicated from the church; person who does not follow a Christian religion”) refers to Matthew 18:17 of the Bible: see the King James Version quotation under sense 1.
Cognates
* Catalan publicà
* Italian pubblicano
* Middle Dutch publicaen, puppilicaen, pupplicaen (modern Dutch publicaan (obsolete), publikaan)
* Middle High German publicān, publicāne (early modern German Publican).
* Middle Low German pūblicān
* Old Occitan publican, puplican
* Portuguese publicano
* Spanish publicano

ref

The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Luke 19:9–10, column 2: “This day is ſaluation come to this houſe, forſomuch as he alſo is the ſonne of Abraham. For the ſonne of man is come to ſeeke, and to ſaue that which was loſt.”

nb...

publicane, publycan, publycane, pubplican, pubplycan, pupblican, pupblycan, puplican, puplicane, pupplican, pupplicane

Matthevv vvhiche vvas other vvyſe alſo called Leui, beyng of a Puplican made an Apoſtle, firſt of all others compoſed and vvrote in Jevvrye, the ghoſpell of Chriſte in the Hebrue tounge, […]

1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Jerome, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Gospell of Saincte Matthew. The Lyfe of Sainct Matthew […].”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio xix, recto:

[T]he Publicans, that is to ſaye, the cuſtomers and takers vp of tolles, […]

1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Ghospell of S. Luke. The .iii. Chapter.”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio xliii, verso:

Hovv like a favvning Publican he lookes.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

[I]f he [a brother who trespasses against one] neglect to heare the Church, let him be vnto thee as an heathen man, and a Publicane.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 18:17, column 1:

[T]here was a man named Zacheus, which was the cheefe among the Publicanes, and he was rich.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 19:2, column 2:

The provinces groaned at once under all the severity of publick imposition, and the rapaciousness of private usury. They were overrun by publicans, farmers of the taxes, agents, confiscators, usurers, bankers, those numerous and insatiable bodies, which always flourish in a burthened and complicated revenue.

1760, Edmund Burke, “An Essay towards an Abridgment of the English History. […]. Chapter III. The Reduction of Britain by the Romans.”, in [Walker King], editor, The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, new edition, volume X, London: […] [R. Gilbert] for C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], published 1826, →OCLC, book I, page 232:

Now, Mrs. Varden, […] believing, moreover, that the publicans coupled with sinners in Holy Writ were veritable licensed victuallers; was far from being favourably disposed towards her visitor.

1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 13.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 5–6:

He brings twelve men with him, fishermen, tillers of the soil, one a publican, all of the humbler class; and he and they make their journeys on foot, careless of wind, cold, rain, or sun.

1880 November 12, Lew[is] Wallace, chapter II, in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, book eighth, page 486:

(Ancient Rome, historical) A tax collector, especially one working in Judea and Galilee during New Testament times (1st century C.E.) who was generally regarded as sinful for extorting more tax than was due, and as a traitor for serving the Roman Empire.


Mycenaean

Of or relating to the early Greek civilization that spread its influence from Mycenae to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Central Europe from about 2800 to 1100 B.C.E., divided into three periods: Early Helladic (c. 2800–2000 B.C.E), Middle Helladic (c. 2000–1500 B.C.E), and Late Helladic (c. 1500–1100 B.C.E)

Of or relating to the Ancient Greek dialect written in the Linear B syllabary.


ushabti

Borrowed from Egyptian w-S-b-t:y-A53 (wšbtj, “ushabti”, literally “answerer”), by folk etymology from earlier SA-wA-b-t:y-A53 (šꜣwꜣbtj), perhaps from S-wA-b-M1 (šwꜣb, “persea (tree)”), which may have been the material they were originally made from. The variant forms shawabti, shabti are borrowed directly from the earlier Egyptian forms šꜣwꜣbtj and šꜣbtj, respectively.

bor

These little images were called in Egyptian “Ushabti,” or “Respondents,” and were in fact supposed to act as servants of the deceased, it being their duty to answer for him and serve as his substitutes when called upon to do labourer's work [...].

1886 September 1, The Times, p.13 col. A:

The air was all at once full of Egyptian and Greek tear-bottles, Ushabti, and Sèvres.

Spectacular objects began to surface throughout the world; […] elaborate ivory powder boxes engraved with peacocks or pictures of lions and unicorns playing draughts, precious ushabtiu figures, the combs of an unknown princess, her red ivory jars of frankincense and eye paint, copper coffers, poison rings, diadems.

1993, Rikki Ducornet, The Jade Cabinet, Dalkey Archive Press, page 121:

In Ancient Egypt, a figurine of a dead person, placed in their tomb to do their work for them in the afterlife.


Mycenae

From Latin Mycenae, Ancient Greek Μυκῆναι (Mukênai), the name of the Ancient Greek city, from Μυκήνη (Mukḗnē), a nymph in Greek mythology who lived around Mycenae. Doublet of Mykines.
Two traditional etymologies exist:
* According to Pausanias, Perseus, the legendary founder of the city, named it either after the cap of the sheath of his sword or after a mushroom he had plucked on the site (either way, the term would derive from Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs)).
* Homer connected the name to the abovementioned Mycene (or Mykene), daughter of Inachus, first King of Argos (Odyssey, 2.120). Homer was not alone in identifying Inachus as a river god, and thus Mycene as a nymph.

1958, Alan John Bayard Wace, Elizabeth Bayard French, The Mycenae Tablets II, American Philosophical Society, page 1,
The excavators of Mycenae added in 1953 and 1954 important new materials to the small but excellent archives of Mycenae.

1992 [Routledge], Richard Tomlinson, From Mycenae to Constantinople, 2003, Taylor & Francis e-Library, page 31,
In 479 BC the citizen army of Mycenae marched to Plataea in Boeotia to join the other mainland Greek cities in inflicting the final defeat which terminated Xerxes' invasion of Greece.

The Prehistoric Cemetery at Mycenae provides our most coherent glimpse of the Middle Hellenic period at Mycenae.

2000, Maureen Joan Alden, Well Built Mycenae, Oxbow Books, page 1:

An ancient Greek city in the NE Peloponnesus on the plain of Argos, inhabited since about 4000 B.C.E.

Homer
Inachus
Mycenae
Mycene (mythology)
Odyssey
Pausanias
Perseus


Hellenize

en-verb

Hellenize (third-person singular simple present Hellenizes, present participle Hellenizing, simple past and past participle Hellenized)

Hellenizes (present singular third-person)
Hellenizing (participle present)
Hellenized (participle past)
Hellenized (past)

From Ancient Greek Ἑλληνίζω (Hellēnízō, “to speak Greek, to make Greek, to become Greek”), from Ἕλλην (Héllēn, “Greek”).

der

(intransitive) To use the language and culture of the ancient Greeks, to become Hellenistic.


Hellenism

en-noun

Hellenism (countable and uncountable, plural Hellenisms)

Either via French hellénisme or Latin Hellēnismus or directly from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνισμός (Hellēnismós, “imitation of the Greeks”), from Ἕλλην (Héllēn, “a Greek”).

helénismus

characteristics of ancient Greek culture

hel·lenisme

culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period

The modern-day revival of the polytheistic religious system of Ancient Greece.


Hellenistic

en-adj

Hellenistic (comparative more Hellenistic, superlative most Hellenistic)

more Hellenistic (comparative)
most Hellenistic (superlative)

desc

ελληνιστικός

→ Greek: ελληνιστικός (ellinistikós)

From German hellenistisch, from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνιστής (Hellēnistḗs, “one who uses the Greek language”), from Ἑλλάς (Hellás, “Greece”); as if Hellenist + -ic.

der

Of or relating to the period of the Greek culture, history, or art after the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.) to the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony by Octavian (31 B.C.) – though this end-point is often debated, and can range from 146BC to 330AD [*].

hel·lenístic

of or relating to a period of Greek history


Kourotrophos

Ancient Greek κουροτρόφος (kourotróphos, “rearing boys” or “bringing up boys”).

uder

(Greek mythology) Artemis, in her incarnation as the 'nurse of youths'


denarius

/dɪˈnɑːɹɪ.əs/

/dɪˈnɛəɹɪ.əs/

General American, Mary–marry–merry merger

Borrowed from Latin dēnārius. Doublet of denar, denier, dinar, diner, dinero, and dinheiro.

doublet

"Sorry, I thought you were Aurel. He owes me a denarius. Have you seen him?"

1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 146:

2007, Philip Matyszak, Ancient Rome on 5 Denarii a Day (title of the book)

(Ancient Rome, numismatics) A small silver coin issued both during the Roman Republic and during the Roman Empire, equal to 10 asses or 4 sesterces. Roughly one day’s wage for a skilled worker.


dupondius

Latin dupondius, literally "two-pounder".

(historical) A bronze coin minted during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, equal to two asses.


quadrigatus

From Latin quadrīgātus, from quadrīgae (“four-horse team”).

A medium-sized silver coin minted by the Roman Republic during the 3rd century B.C..


quinarius

A small silver coin minted during the Roman Republic, equal to half of a denarius.


semuncia

(historical) A bronze coin minted during the Roman Republic, valued at one twenty-fourth of an as.


sestertius

From Latin sēstertius (“that is two-and-a-half”), from sēmis (“half”) + tertius (“third”), in which "third" refers to the third as: the sestertius was worth two full asses and half of a third.

uder

(historical numismatics) A large bronze or (rarely) small silver coin minted during the Roman Republic and Empire, valued at two and a half asses (a quarter of a denarius).


triens

A bronze coin minted during the Roman Republic valued at 4 unciae.


victoriatus

A silver coin, stamped with an image of Victory, minted during the Roman Republic, and valued at half a denarius.


obolus

From Latin obolus, from Ancient Greek ὀβολός (obolós), from ὀβελός (obelós). Doublet of obole and pul.

A silver coin minted in Ancient Greece, valued at a sixth of a drachma.


Parthia

From Latin Parthia, from Ancient Greek Παρθία (Parthía), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 (Parθava) (or another Old Iranian language).

A former country in Central and Western Asia; the empire ruled by dynasts from Parthia; the Parthian Empire; the Arsacid Empire.


biga

(historical) A Roman racing chariot drawn by two horses abreast.


Phyllis

From the masculine Ancient Greek Φύλλις (Phúllis) or from the feminine
Φυλλίς (Phullís).

(Greek mythology) A girl who killed herself for love, and was turned into an almond tree.

(Greek mythology) Phyllis (river god) Phyllis (Φύλλις) was the god of the homonymous river in Bithynia.

(Greek mythology) The title character of the tale of ( Phyllis and Aristotle ) in medieval legend

(Greek mythology) Phyllis, mother of the Trojan Alcaeus

(Greek mythology) Phyllis, consort of Ereuthalion


Alcyone

Latin Alcyonē, from Ancient Greek Ἀλκυόνη (Alkuónē), from Ancient Greek ἀλκυών (alkuṓn), which is considered to be of Pre-Greek origin.

(Greek mythology) One of the Pleiades, daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

(Greek mythology) Daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx.


Eridanus

From Latin Eridanus, from Ancient Greek Ἠριδανός (Ēridanós).

(Greek mythology) A mythical river of northern Europe, rich in amber.


Perioikoi

/ˌpɛɹiˈɔɪkɔɪ/

Transliteration of Ancient Greek Περίοικοι (Períoikoi).

The ancient inhabitants of Laconia who were free residents of the mountains and the beaches of Laconia.


Pompey

From Middle English Pompey, anglicization of Latin Pompeius.

(historical) Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic.


cardo

Borrowed from Latin cardō (“hinge”). Doublet of kern.

(Ancient Rome) A street that ran north–south, in an Ancient Roman town or city


coryphée

Borrowed from French coryphée, from Latin coryphaeus, from Ancient Greek κορυφαῖος (koruphaîos, “leader of the chorus in an Ancient Greek drama”), from κορῠφή (korŭphḗ, “top of the head, crown”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“head, top; horn”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘belonging to, pertaining to’).

der

The piece [...] contains a passage for men's voices marked "Les Travailleurs," topped by a tenor solo (in alto clef) marked "Coryphée," a term originally meaning leader of the chorus, as in a Greek tragedy. [...] [T]he aforementioned "Coryphée" line grows out of a recitative for first tenor.

1986, Ralph P. Locke, “The Rue Monsigny and Salle Taitbout: Music in the Formative Years”, in Music, Musicians and the Saint-Simonians, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, part 3 (Practice), page 86:

Two coryphées, or coryphæi, the term for the leader of a Greek chorus, were stationed in towers on either side of the stage. A device borrowed from Léon Chancerel's Mission de Jeanne d'Arc, the coryphées are present for the entire length of the drama. Like the messenger, they commented upon the action in a Manichean dialogue: one cheering on Joan of Arc, the other deriding her.

2013, Lucie Kayas, Christopher Brent Murray, “Olivier Messiaen and Portique pour une fille de France”, in Christopher Dingle, Robert Fallon, editors, Messiaen Perspectives, Farnham, Surrey, Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, →ISBN; republished volumes 1 (Sources and Influences), Abingdon, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, 2016, →ISBN, page 52:

(Ancient Greece, drama, historical) The conductor or leader of the chorus of a drama.


Orphic

en-adj

Orphic (comparative more Orphic, superlative most Orphic)

more Orphic (comparative)
most Orphic (superlative)

Orphic ideology mainly concerned the mysteries of Dionysos, which many Greeks took very seriously.

2004, Stephanie L. Budin, The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives, ABC-CLIO, page 307:

(Greek mythology) Of or pertaining to Orphism and its doctrines and rituals.


Orphic

In particular, Plato often refers to the “Orphics” and mentions the “Orphic life” (Orphikoi tines legomenoi bioi, Laws 782c). Plato clearly distinguished the Orphics and the Pythagoreans. To speak very generally, the Orphics believed that the soul had a divine beginning but fell from the gods due to an original crime.

2021, Andrea Nightingale, Philosophy and Religion in Plato's Dialogues, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 137:

(Greek mythology) A follower of Orphism.


Apollonia

From Latin Apollōnia, from Ancient Greek Ἀπολλωνία (Apollōnía).

Ապոլոնիա

the name of a number of Ancient Greek cities and colonies


Ancyra

(historical) The capital city of Galatia


Grecian

From Latin Graecia + -an. Compare Old French grecien and Middle English grecan, grecen, greken, grekin.

Olympic Games. — Besides the ordinary confederacies that join independent states together, a singular federal bond is remarkable in the Olympic games, which for many ages cemented the Grecian commonwealths by a joint tie of recreation and religious ritual.

1840, John Dunlop, The Universal Tendency to Association in Mankind. Analyzed and Illustrated, London: Houlston and Stoneman, page 103:

He was a young man with a scornful mouth and the bright blue eyes of a healthy baby set in a dark sensitive face. His hair was pitch black, damp and curly—the hair of a Grecian statue gone brunette.

1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Offshore Pirate”, in Flappers and Philosophers, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 11:

(obsolete or poetic) Greek (of or from Greece or the Greek people, especially those of Ancient Greece).


Grecian

A senior pupil at Christ's Hospital School in West Sussex, England.

I spoke of Mr. Harris, of Salisbury, as being a very learned man, and in particular an eminent Grecian.

1791, James Boswell, “(please specify the year)”, in James Boswell, editor, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC:

[…] and I will so exhibit its very words as that the reader, even if no Grecian, may understand the point in litigation.

1847, Thomas De Quincey, “Protestantism”, in Theological Essays and Other Papers, volume 1:

(obsolete) One well versed in the Greek language; a scholar of Greek.


Alcides

From Latin Alcīdes, from Ancient Greek Ἀλκείδης (Alkeídēs), from Ἀλκαῖος (Alkaîos, “Alcaeus”) + patronymic suffix -ίδης (-ídēs).

(Greek mythology, archaic) Synonym of Hercules


legionary

From legion + -ary. From Latin legiōnārius. Doublet of legionnaire.

Suddenly, [...] he saw all this as romantic — the last legionary, his aloneness, the lost cause really lost — and instinctively he pulled in his paunch, stroked down his hair to cover the naked part of the scalp, and wiped the sweat off his cheeks.

1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 425:

(military, Ancient Rome) A soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.


clepsydra

en-noun

clepsydra (plural clepsydras or clepsydrae)

From Latin clepsydra, from Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα (klepsúdra), from κλέπτειν (kléptein, “to steal”) + ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”).

"The dull, unflavoured drops from life's clepsydra".

1953, John Wyndham, The Kraken Wakes, page 124:

They sat among the choiring clepsydras of the evening garden, time elapsing in a dozen ways, allowing their cigars to go out, keeping a companionable silence.

2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 856:

Synonym of water clock, especially (historical) ancient Greek and Roman forms.


Bethlehem

Inherited from Middle English Bethleem, from Old French Bethleem, from Latin Bēthlehēmum, from Ancient Greek Βηθλεέμ (Bēthleém), from Hebrew בֵּית לֶחֶם (bēṯ lɛ́ḥɛm, literally “house of bread”). Doublet of bedlam and Belém.

der

A number of other places around the world:

A number of places in the United States:

A town in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Litchfield County
Litchfield County#English

An unincorporated community in Winn Parish, Louisiana.


Assyrian

From Assur, the original capital city of Assyria.

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

Any Syriac language spoken by Assyrian peoples, particularly Assyrian Neo-Aramaic.

آشُورِيّ

any Syriac language spoken by Assyrian peoples


Doris

And snowy neckd Doris, and milkewhite Galathæa.

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 49:

(Greek mythology) The daughter of Oceanus, who married Nereus and bore fifty sea-nymphs or nereids.


Midas

Learned borrowing from Latin Midās, from Ancient Greek Μίδᾱς (Mídās), from Phrygian Μιδας (Midas).

(Greek mythology) A king who sought and was for a while granted the cherished but subtly dangerous magical power to turn anything he touched into gold.


frigidarium

Borrowed from Latin frīgidārium, from frīgidus (“cold”). Doublet of frigidaire.

(historical, Ancient Rome) In Ancient Roman baths, a room with a bath of cold water.


Byzantine Empire

(historical) The predominantly Greek-speaking continuation of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages with its capital city being Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally known as Byzantium, which fell in 1453.

Perandoria Bizantine

Greek-speaking empire in the Eastern Mediterranean region


Phobos

From Ancient Greek Φόβος (Phóbos, “Fear”).

(Greek mythology) A son of Ares (Mars). Also the Greek god of fear.


Deimos

From Ancient Greek Δεῖμος (Deîmos), from δειμός (deimós, “terror”).

(Greek mythology) A son of Ares (Latin: Mars), god of terror.


Themisto

(Greek mythology) the third and last wife of Athamas


coryphaeus

en-noun

coryphaeus (plural coryphaeuses or coryphaei)

coryphaeuses (plural)
coryphaei (plural)

/ˌkɔɹəˈfiːəs/

/ˌkɒɹɪˈfiːʌs/

Borrowed from Latin coryphaeus, from Ancient Greek κορυφαῖος (koruphaîos, “leader of the chorus in an Ancient Greek drama”), from κορυφή (koruphḗ, “top of the head, crown”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“head, top; horn”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘belonging to, pertaining to’).

Then the coryphæus finishes the remaining part of the strophe. But when they have returned to order, Bacchus again interposes by beginning the antistrophe β', which the coryphæus ought to have done.

1830, Gottfried Hermann, Gottfried Hermann, translated by John Seager, Hermann's Elements of the Doctrine of Metres, page 165:

The chorus, that is those members of the komos who have not become specialized as actors and continue singing and dancing, are headed by a coryphaeus, who sometimes addresses them, exhorting them to action, or to begin the song or the rite, or else anticipates or summarizes their words, or represents them in conversation with the actors.

1975, Francisco Rodríguez Adrados, “Festival, Comedy and Tragedy: The Greek Origins of Theatre”, in Christopher Holme, transl., [1972, Festia, Comedia y Tragedia], page 250:

Post-classical references to the famous ‘chorus-trainer’ Sannio indicate that his role extended to performing and thus taking the coryphaeus role. The coryphaeus was both leader and teacher, and in performance played a crucial role in setting the time that the other dancers followed.

2000, David Wiles, Greek Theatre Performance: An Introduction, page 135:

The conductor or leader of the chorus of a drama.


Bau

(Mesopotamian mythology) A Mesopotamian goddess, initially a life-giving deity sometimes associated with the creation of mankind, later a goddess of healing and medicine.


Hurrian

From Hurrian 𒄷𒌨𒊑 (Ḫu-ur-ri). Falkenstein and Kramer had once connected it to Sumerian 𒄯𒊒𒌝 (ḫur-ru-um /ḫurrum/, “a mountain cave, cavern”) when it was misidentified as a proper name of a mountain rather than a generic term; see the epic Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave.

der

The language of Hurrians, neither Indo-European nor Semitic, whose only known relative is the Urartian.


Juno

From Middle English Juno, from Latin Iūnō of uncertain origin. One hypothesis is derivation from Proto-Indo-European *dyúh₃onh₂- (“she of heavenly authority”), from *dyew- (“sky, heaven”) + *-Hō (“burden, authority”), reflecting her role as goddess of rulers. Another is derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yúh₃onh₂- (“the young goddess”), from *h₂eyu- (“long time, lifetime”) + *-Hō (“burden, authority”), making it cognate with Latin iuvenis (“young”). Both would have produced the unattested early Latin form *Iuvō, declined with the root Iūn- and eventually normalized to Iūnō.

(Roman mythology) The queen of the gods, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Hera.


pandect

Antiochus of Palestine
Lawrence Torrentinus
Russian Museum

Sense 3 (“comprehensive treatise”) is from Latin pandectēs (“book that contains everything, encyclopedia”), from Ancient Greek πανδέκτης (pandéktēs, “encyclopedia”, literally “all-receiver”), from παν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all’) (from πᾶς (pâs, “all”)) + δέκτης (déktēs, “receiver, recipient”) (from δέχομαι (dékhomai, “to receive”) (from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to take; to perceive”)) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming agent nouns)).
Sense 1 (“compendium of writings on Roman law”) in the plural form Pandects is from Late Latin pandectae (“the Pandects”), the plural of pandectēs, modelled after (Byzantine) Ancient Greek πανδέκται (pandéktai, “the Pandects”), the plural of πανδέκτης (pandéktēs): see further above.

refn

From the collection of the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

der

After upwards of Thirty Years Study, and a painful Induſtry, in compiling A New Pandect or Complete Body of the Roman Civil Law; the Firſt Volume of this Undertaking craves Leave to appear in the World under the Patronage and Protection of your Lordſhip, [...]

1734, John Ayliffe, “[Dedication]”, in A New Pandect of Roman Civil Law, […], London: Printed for Tho[mas] Osborne, […], →OCLC:

And altho' there are many relations of perfect hermaphrodites, creatures that poſſeſſed the power of both ſexes, and could both beget and conceive children, yet theſe relations are treated as fabulous, notwithſtanding ſome laws concerning them are found both in the Roman and Gallic pandect.

1750 January, “We See in a Monthly Book Published at Paris, with the Royal License, an Advertisement with a New Print of a Remarkable and Famous Hermaphrodite, …”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XX, London: Printed by Edw[ard] Cave, […], published January 1755, →OCLC, page 20, column 2:

But the juriſprudence of the Pandects is circumſcribed within a period of an hundred years, from the perpetual edict to the death of Severus Alexander: [...]

1788, Edward Gibbon, chapter XLIV, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume IV, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 361:

And now, upon this third morning after your departure, things are but little better; for though the lamp burns in my den, and Voet on the Pandects hath his wisdom spread open before me, yet as I only use him as a reading-desk on which to scribble this sheet of nonsense to Darsie Latimer, it is probable the vicinity will be of little furtherance to my studies.

1824 June, [Walter Scott], “Letter II. Alan Fairford to Darsie Latimer.”, in Redgauntlet, […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 27:

(Ancient Rome, law, historical) Usually in the plural form Pandects: a compendium or digest of writings on Roman law divided in 50 books, compiled in the 6th century C.E. by order of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I (c. 482–565).


asphodel

en-noun

asphodel (usually uncountable, plural asphodels)

From Ancient Greek ἀσφόδελος (asphódelos). Doublet of daffodil.

Her hand he seis'd, and to a shadie bank,
Thick overhead with verdant roof imbowr'd
He led her nothing loath; Flours were the Couch,
Pansies, and Violets, and Asphodel,
And Hyacinth, Earths freshest softest lap.

1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

(Greek mythology) The flower said to carpet Hades, and a favorite food of the dead.


Daphne

From Ancient Greek δάφνη (dáphnē, “laurel, bay”).

bor

Run when you will, the story shall be chang'd; / Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase; / The dove pursues the griffin

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

(Greek mythology) A dryad pursued by Apollo, who was turned into a laurel tree by the river god Peneus.


dryad

From Old French driade (“wood nymph”), from Latin Dryas, Dryadis, from Ancient Greek Δρυάς (Druás, “dryad”), from δρῦς (drûs, “oak”), from Proto-Indo-European *derew(o)- (“tree, wood”); cf. Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”).

der

Coordinate term: Meliai

There it had stood for years, close beside a mighty oak, under which sat often the kindly old priest, who told stories to the listening children. The young chestnut tree listened with them: the Dryad inside it, who was still a child, could remember the time when the tree was so small that it only reached a little higher than the ferns and long blades of grass.

1914, Hans Christian Andersen, “The Dryad”, in William Alexander Craigie, transl., Fairy tales and other stories:


Midas touch

From the Greek legend of King Midas, related in chapter XI of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (8 C.E.), whom Dionysus (the god of, among other things, wine and winemaking) gave the power to turn things to gold by touching them.

Midaan kosketus

ability to gain financial reward or success from one’s actions easily and consistently

(Greek mythology, literally) The ability to turn everything one touches into gold.


stade

From Latin stadium, from Ancient Greek στάδιον (stádion), a 600-foot racetrack, a distance of 600 Greek feet. Cognate with French stade. Doublet of stadium, stadion, and estadio.

doublet

(historical) Synonym of stadion: a former Greek unit of distance (variously 150–210 m at different places and times).

stadion

(dated) A track for footraces and its surrounding stadium.

(geology) in glaciation during which a secondary advance of the glaciers occurs.


stade

From Spanish estado, from Latin status (“standing”), in reference to it being roughly the height of a grown man. Doublet of estate, state, status, and estado.

(historical) A unit of length notionally based on the height of a grown man, equivalent to a fathom.

(units of measure, obsolete) Synonym of estadio: a traditional Spanish unit of measure equivalent to about 1.67 m.


Penelope

From Ancient Greek Πηνελόπη (Pēnelópē), possibly from πηνέλοψ (pēnélops, “duck”).

You would be another Penelope; yet, they say, all the yarn she spun in Ulysses' absence did but fill Ithaca with moths.

c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

(Greek mythology) The faithful wife of Odysseus.


Pythagoras

/paɪˈθæɡ.əɹ.əs/

/pɪˈθæɡ.əɹ.əs/

/paɪˈθæɡ.ɚ.əs/

From Ancient Greek Πῡθαγόρᾱς (Pūthagórās).

Pitagora

A male given name from Ancient Greek of mostly historical use, and a transliteration from modern Greek.

Gratiano:
O, be thou damn'd, inexecrable dog!
And for thy life let justice be accused.
Thou almost makest me waver in my faith,
To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit
Govern'd a wolf, who, hang'd for human slaughter,
Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet,
And, whilst thou lay'st in thy unhallow'd dam,
Infused itself in thee; for thy desires
Are wolfish, bloody, starved, and ravenous.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

Pythagoras (c. 570 – c. 495 BC), an Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher.

Serge Lang and Gene Murrow (1988) Geometry, →ISBN, page 203: “By Pythagoras, we find the length of the third side, |AB|² = (2a)² – a² = 4a² – a² = 3a²”

Pythagoras' theorem
Pythagoras' theorem#English

(mathematics, colloquial) Ellipsis of Pythagoras' theorem.


Proteus

Derived from Ancient Greek Πρωτεύς (Prōteús).

der+

(Greek mythology) A sea god who could change his shape at will.


taberna

From Latin taberna. Doublet of tavern and taverna.

(Ancient Rome) A type of shop or stall in Ancient Rome.


Sumerian

/səˈmɪəɹiən/

(linguistics) The ancient language spoken in Sumer, a language isolate.


lagobolon

en-noun

lagobolon (plural lagobolons or lagobola)

Borrowed from Ancient Greek λᾰγωβόλον (lăgōbólon), from λαγώς (lagṓs, “hare”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).

(Ancient Greece) A hunter's stick for striking hares.


Galilee

Inherited from Middle English Galilee, from Old French Galilee, from Medieval Latin Galilea, from Ancient Greek Γᾰλῑλαίᾱ (Gălīlaíā), from Hebrew גָּלִיל (galíl).


gigantomachy

gigantomachy (countable and uncountable, plural gigantomachies)

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek Γιγαντομαχία (Gigantomakhía), from Γίγας (Gígas, “giant”) + μάχη (mákhē, “battle”) + -ια (-ia). Compare Titanomachy, Typhonomachy, centauromachy.

lbor

Γιγαντομαχία

Giants (Greek mythology)#The Gigantomachy

Here we will examine Amazonomachies, Gigantomachies, and Centauromachies; the Trojan War will be discussed in Chapter 7.

1995, Susan B. Matheson, Polygnotos and Vase Painting in Classical Athens, University of Wisconsin Press, page 234:

You often see the Gigantomachy in the sculptural decoration of Archaic temples: the statement of the authority of the gods, made by the temple itself, is reinforced by the myth told upon it.

2006, Ken Dowden, Zeus, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), page 38:

First, beginning in the 5th cent. BC, the line between religious and commemorative-political art became blurred as traditional subjects were blurred to convey political meanings (e.g. the Amazonomachy, the Gigantomachy; see AMAZONS, GIANTS).

2014, J. J. Pollitt, “Art, ancient attitudes to”, in Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow, editors, The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, page 83:

(Greek mythology) The battle of the Giants (offspring of Gaia, according to Hesiod conceived from the spilt blood of Uranus) against the Olympian gods.

gigantomakhia

uprising of the Giants against the Olympian gods


Carthage

From Middle French Carthage, from Latin Carthāgō, from Phoenician 𐤒𐤓𐤕-𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 (qrt-ḥdšt), possibly via Etruscan *𐌂𐌀𐌓𐌈𐌀𐌆𐌀 (*carθaza), from 𐤒𐤓𐤕 (qrt, “city”) + 𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 (ḥdšt, “new”) as distinguished from the colonists' mother city of Tyre. More at Carthāgō.

A community of the Township of Perth East, Perth County, Ontario, Canada.

A ghost town in Inyo County, California.

A city, the county seat of Leake County, Mississippi.

A tiny city in Miner County, South Dakota.


Fates

"Oh, no!" said he, with a most imperturbable air, "I always make allowance for feminine weakness; I do not expect your mind to follow mine!"
"Now, the Fates forbid that it should!" thought Henrietta.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Influence of an Invitation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 17:

1944, Ralph Blane, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, Meet Me in St. Louis, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Through the years we all will be together / If the Fates allow

(Greek mythology) Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis; supernatural beings who controlled the destiny of men and of the gods.


Ariadne

en-proper noun

Ariadne (countable and uncountable, plural Ariadnes)

(Greek mythology) The daughter of King Minos of Crete and his queen, Pasiphae.


Memphis

From Latin Memphis, from Ancient Greek Μέμφις (Mémphis), from Egyptian mn-nfr.

The name of several towns or cities in the US.

A census-designated place in Manatee County, Florida.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A small city in Macomb County and St. Clair County, Michigan.

St. Clair County
St. Clair County#English

A hamlet in the town of Van Buren, Onondaga County, New York.


daimon

A modern romanization of Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “the one who divides, dispenser, tutelary deity”), intended to distinguish its ancient Greek sense from later conceptions of demons. Compare Ancient Greek Λᾰκεδαίμων (Lăkedaímōn, “Laconian dispenser”).

cog

Phang Nga Bay
daemon (classical mythology)
spirit house

All at once, my daimōn—that other Me over whom I button my waistcoat when I button it over my own person—put it into my head to look up the story of Madame Saqui.

1890 January, Oliver Wendell Holmes [Sr.], “Over the Teacups”, in The Atlantic Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics, volume LXV, number CCCLXXXVII, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company; The Riverside Press, Cambridge, →OCLC, page 121:

The object which first appears is adopted as the personal mystery, guardian spirit, or tutelary daimon of the entranced, and is never mentioned by him without first making a sacrifice.

1891, W[alter] J[ames] Hoffman, The Mide’wiwin or “Grand Medicine Society” of the Ojibwa, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 163:

Marcus Aurelius is persuaded that God gives every man a special daimon as his guide – a belief which reappears in the Christian guardian angel.

1945, Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy: And its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →OCLC, book I, chapter 27:

He will release his pent-up rage and fear no evil, for his genius is with him, and his daimon bids him violate all the taboos of the literary marketplace.

1960, Charles I. Glicksberg, “Norman Mailer: The Angry Young Novelist in America”, in Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature, volume 1, number 1, Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, →OCLC:

(Greek mythology) A tutelary deity or spirit that watches over a person or place.


Arachne

From Latin Arachnē, from Ancient Greek ἀράχνη (arákhnē, “spider”).

der

(Greek mythology) A woman famous for her skill at weaving. She was changed into a spider by the goddess Athena.

Arachné

(Greek mythology) woman famous for her skill at weaving


Eastern Orthodox Church

en-proper noun

Eastern Orthodox Church (plural Eastern Orthodox Churches)

Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church

One of the major branches of Christianity; it comprises the Greek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church and other patriarchates.


Rhode

(Greek mythology) In Greek mythology, the oldest Oceanid, a daughter of Tethys and Oceanus


Jericho

/ˈd͡ʒɛɹɪkəʊ/

/ˈd͡ʒɛɹɪˌkoʊ/

From Middle English Iericho, from Old English Iericho, from Latin Ierīchō, from Ancient Greek Ἰερῑχώ (Ierīkhṓ), from Biblical Hebrew יְרִיחוֹ (yərīḥō), recorded early as Ugaritic 𐎊𐎗𐎃 (yrḫ). Regarding the "place of concealment" sense, see 2 Samuel 10:5.


Ammon

From Latin Ammōn, from Ancient Greek Ἄμμων (Ámmōn), itself from Egyptian i-mn:n-A40 (jmn).

der

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">jmn</i>

Here, over five hundred years before, had come the founder of Alexandria, Alexander the Great, to visit the oracle of Ammon, the god figured to be like a man having the head and horns of a ram.

1898, Mary E. Bamford, Out of the Triangle:

(Egyptian mythology) Alternative form of Amun


Dysnomia

From Ancient Greek Δυσνομία (Dusnomía, literally “lawlessness”), from δύσνομος (dúsnomos, “lawless”).

bor

(Greek mythology) The daemon (minor deity) of lawlessness, listed by Hesiod among the daughters of Eris.


ambrosial

en-adj

ambrosial (comparative more ambrosial, superlative most ambrosial)

more ambrosial (comparative)
most ambrosial (superlative)

/æmˈbɹoʊʒəl/

Partly from ambrosia and partly from Latin ambrosius, + -al.

And whilst he slept she [Venus] over him would spred / Her mantle, colour’d like the starry skyes, / And her soft arme lay underneath his hed, / And with ambrosiall kisses bathe his eyes [...]

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

(Greek mythology) Pertaining to or worthy of the gods.


nepenthes

Borrowed from Latin nēpenthes (“a drug bringing relief from grief”), from Ancient Greek νηπενθές (nēpenthés), neuter of νηπενθής (nēpenthḗs, “sorrow-banishing”), from νη- (nē-, “not”) + πένθος (pénthos, “grief”) (from πάσχειν (páskhein), present active infinitive of πάσχω (páskhō, “to be ill or injured in a certain way; to suffer”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷendʰ- (“to endure, to suffer”)). Compare French népenthès (“a plant from which a drug supposedly bringing relief from grief may be obtained; such a drug”).

cog

Helen of Troy
Naples National Archaeological Museum
Villa of the Papyri

nepenthaceous

belonging to the Nepenthaceae family of plants

And how marvellous were the shapes of the nepenthes, how beautiful the colour, how delicate in form!

1863, Spenser [Buckingham] St. John, “Introduction”, in Life in the Forests of the Far East; or Travels in Northern Borneo. … With Numerous Illustrations. In Two Volumes, 2nd rev. edition, volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., page 11:

NEPENTHA′CEÆ, Nepenths, a natural order of Exogenous Plants inhabiting the damper and warmer parts of Asia, and having, in the place of leaves, large hollow bodies furnished with a lid, and containing water secreted from a peculiar glandular apparatus with which they are lined. […] [T]he adherent ovary of Birthworts, their highly developed calyx, axile placentation, and hermaphrodite flowers, are serious difficulties in the way of a close contact between them and Nepenths, unless the peculiar structure of the wood, the consideration of which I for the present abandon, should lead to the final establishment of the class of Homogens, in which case Nepenths and Birthworts will be brought into contact or at least a near neighbourhood.

1867, “NEPENTHA′CEÆ”, in Charles Knight, editor, Natural History or Second Division of “The English Cyclopædia”, volume III, London: Bradbury, Evans, & Co., 11, Bouverie St., Fleet St., E.C.; New York, N.Y.: Scribner, Welford, & Co., 654, Broadway, →OCLC, column 1080:

When studying the nepenthes, I was puzzled to see the use of the channel which exists on the back of the pitchers, and which is formed by two ridges furnished with spikes in most of the nepenthes, but not in all, which run up to the margin of the lip of the pitcher.

1875 July 29, Lawson Tait, “Insectivorous Plants”, in Nature: A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Science, volume XII, number 300, London, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., page 252, column 2:

Different techniques in plant tissue culture may offer certain advantages over traditional methods of propagation which include […] Production of plants from seeds that have very low chances of germinating and growing, i.e.: orchids and nepenthes.

2013, Anwar Shahzad, Taiba Saeed, “In Vitro Conservation Protocols for Some Rare Medicinal Plant Species”, in Mohd. Shahid, Anwar Shahzad, Abida Malik, Aastha Sahai, editors, Recent Trends in Biotechnology and Therapeutic Applications of Medicinal Plants, Dordrecht: Springer, →DOI, →ISBN, page 265:

A Southeast Asian carnivorous plant of the genus Nepenthes; a monkey cup or tropical pitcher plant.


Hatti

Learned borrowing from Akkadian 𒄩𒋾 (ḫatti). The original source etymon is also attested as Egyptian ḫtꜣ, x:t-U30-A-T14-N25

lbor

a region of Bronze Age Anatolia, inhabited by the Hattians and then the Hittites


Phryne

From Ancient Greek Φρύνη (Phrúnē), from φρύνη (phrúnē, “toad”), a nickname often given to prostitutes of the time.

The suffrages were recently divided between Mademoiselle Lange and Madame Tallien — the Helen and Phryne of the nation.

1797, "Anthony Pasquin" (John Williams), The Pin-Basket to the Children of Thespis: With Notes Historical, Critical and Biographical, page 91:

But in the first of these instances, an impediment may be supposed to be insurmountable, which Dryden has only surmounted by the substitution of matchless beauties of his own! He wins his cause, like Phryne pleading before the Areopagus.

1835, Selections from the Edinburgh Review, page 354:

The Roman-period stories that circulated about Phryne have to do with her beauty, her nudity, and her forwardness.[…]Alciphron also crafts a letter that Phryne writes to Praxiteles; in it, Phryne toys with the theological implications of Praxiteles' use of her as a model for Aphrodite, and her statuary appearance at a sanctuary to Eros at Thespiai.

2010, Laura Salah Nasrallah, Christian Responses to Roman Art and Architecture: The Second-Century Church Amid the Spaces of Empire, page 261:

(historical) An Ancient Greek courtesan of the 4th century BC, reputedly the model for Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Cnidus and famously tried for the capital charge of impiety, during which trial she allegedly bared her breasts before the judges.


Canaan

Canaan
Canaan (disambiguation)
Great Vowel Shift
Wycliffe's Bible

Taken (at least as early as Wycliffe's Bible, 1382-1395, which has Chanaan) from Ecclesiastical Latin Chanaān, from Ancient Greek Χαναάν (Khanaán), expanded from Χνᾶ (Khnâ), from Hebrew כְּנַעַן (k'ná'an). The first vowel shifted from /aː/ to /eɪ/ in the Great Vowel Shift; at least as early as Milton (1660s), the word could already be pronounced with two syllables, though at least as late as the 1880s it could also be pronounced with three, /ˈkeɪ.nə.æn/.

The name of multiple places in North America named after the historic region, including:

A town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States.


deben

(Egyptology) A measure of weight used during the Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, equivalent to about 13.6 grams.

(Egyptology) A measure of weight used during the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, equivalent to 10 kite (about 91 grams).


quadrennium

en-noun

quadrennium (plural quadrenniums or quadrennia)

quadrenniums (plural)
quadrennia (plural)

From Late Latin quadrennium, from Latin quadriennium, from quadriennis (“4-year”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).

A period of 4 years, particularly (historical) the sets of four years in the ancient Egyptian and Greek calendars.


vicennial

From vicennium + -al or directly from Latin vīcenniālis, from vīcennium (“20-year span”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjective-forming suffix), from vīcennis (“20-year”) + -ium (“-ium”, suffix forming abstract nouns), from vīciēs (“20 times”) + annus (“year”) + -is (suffix forming compound adjectives). Equivalent to vice- (“twenty”) + -ennial.

The feast of Constantine's vicennials fell on the 25th of July this year: it was the commencement of the twentieth year of his reign. It is supposed, that to avoid interrupting affairs or greater moment, this ceremony was deferred till the end of the council, which broke up the 25th of August.

1776, Charles le Beau, The History of Constantine the Great, page 267:

Roman coins mentioning the vota publica for Macrinus are RIC IV.1 5–13; on vota publica for the decennials and vicennials of emperors in the 2nd and 3rd c. ad, see Chastagnol 1984.

2022, Martin Hallmannsecker, Roman Ionia..., p. 110

(historical) Synonym of vicennalia, the festival and religious ritual held in the 20th year of a Roman emperor's reign.


byzant

“Gramercy! good fellow,” cried Prince John, “thou pleasest me — Here, Isaac, lend me a handful of byzants.”


bezant

From Middle English besaunt, from Old French bezant, nominative bezanz, from Latin byzantius (“of Byzantium”).

(history) A coin made of gold or silver, minted at Byzantium and used in currency throughout mediaeval Europe.


Greek fire

“There is yet spirit in him,” said Malvoisin apart to Mont–Fitchet, “were it well directed — but, like the Greek fire, it burns whatever approaches it.”

(historical) A highly flammable substance of unknown composition first used by the Greeks of Constantinople in the 7th century C.E. to set fire to enemy ships, buildings, etc.


Empedocles

From Ancient Greek Ἐμπεδοκλῆς (Empedoklês).

A Greek philosopher who held that all matter was composed of earth, air, fire and water.


Dalmatia

From Latin Dalmatia, possibly from an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae who lived in the region.

(historical) A province of the Roman Empire.


Polyphemus

From Latin Polyphēmus, from Ancient Greek Πολύφημος (Polúphēmos, from πολύ (polú) + φήμη (phḗmē) + -ος (-os), literally “many-voiced”, “much spoken of”, or “abounding in songs and legends”).

der

(Greek mythology) A cyclops in Homer's Odyssey.


Agamemnon

/ˌæɡəˈmɛmnɒn/

/ˌæɡəˈmɛmnən/

From Ancient Greek Ἀγαμέμνων (Agamémnōn, “very resolute”).

bor

(Greek mythology) One of the most distinguished heroes of Greek mythology. He is the son of King Atreus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope and the brother of Menelaus. He is famous for rallying the Greeks in the Trojan War, yet infamous for the sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia at the commencement of the war.


hecatomb

The noun is a learned borrowing from Latin hecatombē (“great sacrifice of a hundred oxen, hecatomb”), from Ancient Greek ἑκατόμβη (hekatómbē, “great sacrifice of a hundred oxen, hecatomb; any animal sacrifice or large sacrifice”, from ἑκᾰτόν (hekătón, “hundred”) + βοῦς (boûs, “cattle, cow, ox”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

O be propitious, powerfull God of Arts, / I sheathe my weapons, and doe breake my darts, / Be then appeas'd, I'le offer to thy shrine, / An Heccatombe, of many spotted kine.

1599, W. Kinsayder or Theriomastix [pseudonyms; John Marston], “Satyre. V. Totum in Toto.”, in The Scourge of Villanie. […], London: […] I[ames] R[oberts], →OCLC; republished as G[eorge] B[agshawe] Harrison, editor, The Scourge of Villanie (The Bodley Head Quartos; 13), London: John Lane, The Bodley Head […]; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Company, 1925, →OCLC, page 58:

[B]oth the muſes and the graces are his hard Miſtriſſes, though he daily Invocate them, though he ſacrifize Hecatombs, they ſtil look a ſquint, […]

a. 1632 (date written), John Donne, “[Characters.] The True Character of a Dunce.”, in Paradoxes, Problemes, Essayes, Characters, […], London: […] T. N. for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1652, →OCLC, page 68:

But haſte, conſult vve quick ſome prophet here / […] that vve may learn / By vvhat crime vve have thus incenſed Apollo, / VVhat broken vovv, vvhat hecatomb unpaid / He charges on us, and if ſoothed vvith ſteam / Of lambs and goats unblemiſh'd, he may yet / Be vvon to ſpare us, and avert the plague.

1791, Homer, “[The Iliad.] Book I.”, in W[illiam] Cowper, transl., The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, pages 5–6, lines 74 and 76–81:

[I]n th' olden time / Some sacrifices ask'd a single victim, / Great expiations had a hecatomb.

1821, Lord Byron, Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice. An Historical Tragedy, in Five Acts. […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 18:

[I]t is conceivable that if we were ancients some of us might be offering grateful hecatombs by mistake, and proving our honesty in a ruinously expensive manner.

[1879], George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “[Impressions of Theophrastus Such.] The Wasp Credited with the Honeycomb.”, in Impressions of Theophrastus Such, Essays and Leaves from a Note-book, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 107:

For the god they speedily stationed the sacred hecatomb all in good order surrounding the well-built altar.

2007, Homer, “Book 1”, in Rodney Merrill, transl., The Iliad, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 40, lines 447–448:

(Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, historical) A great public sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen; also, a great number of animals reserved for such a sacrifice.

hecatombe

great public sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen; great number of animals reserved for such a sacrifice; great public sacrifice in other religions


Pliny

Ultimately from Latin Plīnius, an Italic name of obscure origin.

The two Plinys, Lucan, (though again under the disadvantage of verse) Petronius Arbiter, and Quintilian, but above all, the Senecas, (for a Spanish cross appears to improve the quality of the rhetorician) have left a body of rhetorical composition such as no modern nation has rivalled.

1828, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume 24, number 147:

Of Q. Curtius, the Demosthenes (both), Eutropius, Horace (first with a date), Homer, Justin, Livy, the two Plinies, Quintilian, Martial, Tacitus, and Virgil, the first editions; but my friend must not be allowed to have a succession of nights of undisturbed repose till he possesses the first Horace, and the first Roman edition of Virgil.

1836, Thomas Frognall Dibdin, Reminiscences of a Literary Life:

I will leave off all my childish fooleries and diversions, and set about studying with such a rage, that when you come back next year, you may find the tongue I have now in my mouth more forky than that of some serpents mentioned by Pliny the naturalist.

a. 1776, Joseph Baretti, “Dialogue the Fortieth”, in Easy Phraseology for the Use of Those Persons Who Intend to Learn the Colloquial Part of the Italian Language, 1835 edition, Turin: Joseph Bocca, page 236:

Pliny the Elder, Gaius Plinius Secundus (23–79 AD): an ancient Roman nobleman, scientist and historian, author of Naturalis Historia, "Pliny's Natural History".

Pliny the Younger, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (63–circa 113): an ancient Roman statesman, orator, and writer, a great-nephew of Pliny the Elder.


praenomen

en-noun

praenomen (plural praenomens or praenomina)

From Latin praenōmen, from prae- (“pre-: before”) + nōmen (“name, family name”).

In the name Tyrannosaurus rex, "Tyrannosaurus" is the praenomen.

(zoology) The genus name in a binomial scientific name.


Pallas

From Ancient Greek Παλλάς (Pallás) (f.) or Πάλλας (Pállas) (m.), from πάλλω (pállō, “to poise, sway, or swing”), but explained here by the ancients as more specifically meaning to brandish something. In Athena's conventional iconography, she was often depicted with a spear or a shield. Thus the epithet was explained as referring to her brandishing these things.

(Greek mythology) Any of several people in Greek mythology:

An epithet for Athena, always used together with the name, as Pallas Athena, rather than alone.

One of the Titans, according to Hesiod the son of the Titans Crius and Eurybia.

A female given name from Ancient Greek of mythological origin; rare in English.


Pandora's box

(Greek mythology) A box given to Pandora by Zeus, whose instructions stated that it must not be opened, and were then ignored, leading to disastrous consequences.


procurator

/ˈpɹɑkjəˌɹeɪtɚ/

/ˈpɹɒkjʊˌɹeɪtə/

Anglo-Norman procuratour, from Latin prōcūrātor, from prōcūrō (“I procure”) (English procure). Equivalent to procure + -ator.

следовател

legal officer in communist country collector

(Ancient Rome) The governor of a small imperial province.

прокуратор

Ancient Rome: governor of small province


Ptolemaic

Via Latin Ptolemāicus from Koine Greek Πτολεμᾱϊκός (Ptolemāïkós) from Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaîos), a proper name derived from Epic Greek πτόλεμος (ptólemos), variant of Ancient Greek πόλεμος (pólemos, “battle, war”); equivalent to Ptolemy + -ic.

der

(historical) Of or pertaining to the Ptolemy dynasty of pharaohs, the Ptolemies, rulers of Hellenistic Egypt.


convivium

(ecology) A geographically isolated population of a species that shows differentiation from other populations of the same species; becomes a subspecies or ecotype


ferryman

(Greek mythology, usually preceded by the) Charon.


carene

From Latin carēnum or caroenum, from Ancient Greek κάροινον (károinon), q.v.

(historical cooking, rare, obsolete) Synonym of carenum: a reduction of must or sweet wine in ancient European cuisine.


Dodona

From Latin Dōdōna, from Ancient Greek Δωδώνη (Dōdṓnē).

(informal) Dodoni, the present settlement at the site, in modern Greece's Ioannina prefecture.


Byzantium

From Latin Bȳzantium, from Ancient Greek Βῡζᾰ́ντῐον (Būzắntĭon), named after its legendary founder, Byzas.

(historical, by extension) The Byzantine Empire.


Praetorian

(historical, Ancient Rome) A member of a special bodyguard force used by Roman emperors, their symbol being the scorpion.


cyathus

From Latin cyathus, from Ancient Greek κύαθος (kúathos, “ladle”), of uncertain origin. Doublet of kyathos.

(historical) A Roman unit of liquid measure reckoned as the volume of 1⅔ Roman ounce of wine and equivalent to about 45 mL although differing slightly over time.

Synonym of ladle, especially (historical) a small one used for serving wine in ancient Greece and Rome.

ladle

(historical) Synonym of kyathos (“an ancient ladle and serving beaker”).


ferula

Borrowed from Latin ferula (“giant fennel”), whose stalks were once used in punishing schoolboys. Doublet of ferule.

bor+

(obsolete) The imperial sceptre in the Byzantine Empire.


retiarius

/ˌɹɛ.tɪˈɑː.ɹɪ.əs/

/ˌɹɛ.tɪˈɛː.ɹɪ.əs/

(Ancient Rome, gladiatorial combat) A gladiator who uses a casting net (a rete or iaculum) as a weapon.


haoma

Transliteration of Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀 (haoma). Doublet of soma.

translit

The offering of haoma was a common practice among Achaemenids; the Haumavarga Scythians probably owe their name to the fact that they did not press the plant but strewed it ritually (HOFFMANN 1975).

1999, Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willem van der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible: DDD, page 384:

(Zoroastrianism) A plant associated with the divinity Haoma.


Aeolic

From Latin aeolicus, from Ancient Greek αἰολικός (aiolikós) or Αἰολικός (Aiolikós, “like the Aeolians”).

(Greek mythology) Of Aeolus, the Ancient Greek god of the wind.

Of, finding its or their origin in, or borne on winds; aerial.

(geology) Owing its creation, formation, or deposition chiefly to the effects of air currents.


Pasiphae

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Πασιφάη (Pasipháē).

(Greek mythology) The daughter of Helios and the sister of Circe. She was raised as a princess at Cholchis, and then given in marriage to King Minos of Crete. With Minos, she was the mother of Ariadne, Androgeus, Glaucus, Deucalion, Phaedra, and Catreus. She was also the mother of the Minotaur.


lunula

en-noun

lunula (plural lunulae or (archaic) lunulæ)

lunulae (plural)
lunulæ (archaic plural)

(Ancient Rome, historical) A crescent moon-shaped pendant worn by girls in Ancient Rome.


Theseus

From Ancient Greek Θησεύς (Thēseús). His name comes from the same root as θεσμός (thesmós), Greek for “institution”.

A legendary Ancient Greek hero most famous for defeating the minotaur in the labyrinth of Crete.


princeps

Borrowed from Latin prī̆nceps (“first, foremost”). Doublet of prince and principe.

bor+

Its special characteristics were that the princeps was not governed by any law of procedure or confined to a particular place of judgment and, moreover, had complete freedom in the composition of his consilium.

1984, Karl Christ, The Romans: An Introduction to Their History and Civilisation, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 126:

(Ancient Rome) Title of the Roman emperor during the principate.


Heliopolis

Borrowed from Latin Hēliopolis, from Ancient Greek Ἡλίου πόλις (Hēlíou pólis, “Sun City”), from the important solar cults of Ra and Baal. Doublet of Surajpur.

der

(historical) The ancient capital of the 13th nome of Lower Egypt, located in the northern suburbs of modern Cairo, Egypt; known in Ancient Egyptian as Iunu and in later Coptic as On.


Canaanite

A subfamily of the Semitic languages, which were spoken by the ancient peoples of the Canaan region, including Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, and Philistines.

kánaáni

a subfamily of the Semitic languages spoken by the ancient peoples of the Canaan region, including Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, and Philistines


Canaanite

It’s a simple sentence that captures the hopes and fears of modern-day parents as much as the bronze age Canaanite who owned the doubled-edged ivory comb on which the words appear.

2022 November 9, Ian Sample, “Oldest known sentence written in first alphabet discovered – on a head-lice comb”, in The Guardian:

A member of the ancient Semitic people who occupied Canaan before its conquest by Israelites.


Canaanite

en-adj

Canaanite (comparative more Canaanite, superlative most Canaanite)

more Canaanite (comparative)
most Canaanite (superlative)

Unearthed in Lachish, a Canaanite city state in the second millennium BCE and the second most important city in the kingdom of Judah, the comb suggests that humans have endured lice for thousands of years and that even the wealthiest were not spared the grim infestations.

Of or pertaining to the people or language of Canaan.

Of or pertaining to this sect or its followers; Canaanitic.

Kanaänitisch

of or pertaining to this sect or its followers


Thoth

Via Latin Thōth from Ancient Greek Θώθ (Thṓth), from Egyptian ḏḥwtj (“Thoth”, literally “he who is like the ibis”). Compare Coptic Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ (Thōout).

der

(Egyptian mythology) The ancient Egyptian moon god of wisdom, learning, and magic, usually depicted as an ibis or baboon.


Tantalus

From Latin Tantalus, from Ancient Greek Τάνταλος (Tántalos). Doublet of tantalus.

(Greek mythology) A Phrygian king who was condemned to remain in Tartarus, chin-deep in water, with fruit-laden branches hanging above his head; whenever he tried to drink or eat, the water and fruit receded out of reach.


Aesculapius

Learned borrowing from Latin Aesculāpius.

lbor

(Roman mythology) The god of medicine and healing. Greek counterpart: Asclepius.


balteus

Borrowed from Latin balteus (“belt, girdle”).

bor+

(Ancient Rome) A swordbelt worn by Roman legionaries.


Eos

From Ancient Greek Ἠώς (Ēṓs, “Greek goddess of the dawn”), from ἠώς (ēṓs, “dawn, daybreak; morning; day; east”). Doublet of Aurora.

der

(Greek mythology) The Greek goddess of the dawn; daughter of Hyperion and Theia, sister of Helios and Selene, wife of Astraeus (god of the dusk), and mother of the four Anemoi ("Winds"), and the five Astra Planeta ("Wandering Stars/Planets"). Her Roman counterpart is Aurora.