Gogmagog

Often connected to the Biblical characters Gog and Magog. However, Manley Pope, author of an 1862 English translation of the Welsh chronicle Brut y Brenhinedd, argued that it was a corruption of Welsh Gawr Madoc (Madoc the Giant).

It’s funny enough now, but it wasn’t funny then, for I got in such a state that I believed, actually believed, that Fauns lived in a certain double hedgerow near the Gog Magogs, and one evening I walked a mile sooner than go through it alone.

1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, VII [Uniform ed., p. 86]

(mythology) A legendary giant in Welsh and later English folklore, said to have been a giant inhabitant of Albion who was thrown off a cliff during a wrestling match with Corineus, a companion of Brutus of Troy.


akh

Their abode is heaven; and the Akh, by contrast with the Ba, does not retain any relation to the body.… It is a deceased, a transcendent being, without earthly or material ties; and, as such, it is the most spiritualized of the various concepts of the dead.

1948, Henri Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society and Nature, page 64:

After spending the night asleep in their tombs, the akhs would wake each morning at sunrise and “come forth from the necropolis” to enjoy an ideal life, free from the cares of physical existence.

2000, James P. Allen, Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, page 33:

The akh would later become the state achieved when the ba and ka are rejoined.

2005, Gary A. Stillwell, Afterlife: Post-Mortem Judgments in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, page 118:

If a person’s ka and ba were not reunited and akh failed to develop, then everlasting life would not occur.

2009, Janet Balk, “Egyptian Perceptions of Death in Antiquity”, in Clifton D. Bryant, Dennis L. Peck, editors, Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience, page 399:

Different postmortem aspects of the individual are mentioned in ritual texts, so that it is unclear how they relate to one another: the ka (what leaves the body when death occurs), the ba (the personality of the individual), and the akh (a glorified bodily form).

2015, “Afterlife”, in Eric Orlin, editor, Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions, page 17:

In Egyptian mythology, (roughly) a spirit of the dead that has successfully completed its transition to the afterlife.


akh

Borrowed from Arabic أَخ (ʔaḵ, “brother”). Doublet of ock.

(Islam, MLE, MTE, slang) Brother; a close male friend or associate.


Kartikeya

Borrowed from Sanskrit कार्त्तिकेय (kārttikeya).

bor+

(Hinduism) A son of Shiva and Hindu god of war.


Empusa

From Ancient Greek Ἔμπουσα (Émpousa, “species of monster of Greek mythology”).

der

Hobbes compares this hybrid school divinity to Empusa, a female specter in ancient Greek mythology who was supposed to have been sent by the goddess Hecate[…].

1999, Douglas M. Jesseph, Squaring the Circle, University of Chicago Press, page 311:

The Empusa was a female vampire from Greek mythology that feasted on the blood of men.

2014, Barbara Cox, Scott Forbes, Haunted Homes, Gareth Stevens Publishing, page 20:

(Greek mythology) A monster sent by (and sometimes the progeny of) the goddess Hecate; when imagined as the first or only empusa, or as a species of monster.


empusa

1858, "Empūsa", entry in William Smith, A Classical Dictionary of Biography, Mythology, and Geography, John Murray, page 240,
The Lamiae and Mormolyceia, who assumed the form of handsome women for the purpose of attracting young men, and then sucked their blood like vampyrs and ate their flesh, were reckoned among the Empusae.

The empusae of Greek mythology demonstrate physical animal traits of the donkey and the female dog in order to emphasize certain negative characteristics associated with these animals in mythology that can also be applied to human beings.

2016, Heide Crawford, The Origins of the Literary Vampire, Rowman & Littlefield, page 41:

(Greek mythology) In Ancient Greek mythology, a kind of spectre sent by Hecate to guard roads and devour travellers.


empousa

(Greek mythology) Alternative form of empusa


jann

en-noun

jann (plural janns or jinnan or jawan or jinn or jinnah)

janns (plural)
jinnan (plural)
jawan (plural)
jinn (plural)
jinnah (plural)

(rare, mythology) One of the jinn; a genie.


Shawalo

(mythology) In Kalash myth, the meadow where Mahandeu cheated Balimain from superiority, when all the gods had slept together.


Heramba

From Sanskrit हेरम्ब (heramba, “buffalo”).

(Hinduism) A form of the Hindu god Ganesha.


Vinayaka

Borrowed from Sanskrit विनायक (vināyaka).


Ekadanta

From Sanskrit एकदन्त (ekadanta, “one-toothed”); ultimately from एक (eka, “one”) + दन्त (danta, “tooth, tusk”).


water nymph

From Middle English water-nymph, equivalent to water + nymph.

(mythology) A female spirit presiding over fountains, wells, streams, etc.


edimmu

(mythology) In Sumerian religion, a class of utukku or spirits, envisioned as the ghosts of those who did not receive a proper burial.


utukku

(mythology) In Sumerian religion, a class of spirits who had escaped the underworld, either by their own power or by being summoned forth by a priest.


jiangshi

/d͡ʒiˌɑŋˈʃiː/

/d͡ʒiˌæŋˈʃiː/

Borrowed from Mandarin 殭屍／僵尸 (jiāngshī).

A reanimated corpse in Chinese legend, which moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched, and kills living creatures to absorb their life force.


yakshini

From Sanskrit यक्षिणी (yakṣiṇī, feminine of यक्ष (yakṣa)).

There is also the Yakshini; who lies in wait for men and arouses their passions, with the ultimate object of delivering them over to demons or of feeding upon them as a vampire.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 202:


Pania

(mythology) A beautiful maiden in Maori mythology, and symbol of the New Zealand city of Napier.


Telamon

From Ancient Greek Τελαμών (Telamṓn, literally “the bearer”).

der

(Greek mythology) Father of Ajax, brother of Peleus.


Aegisthus

/ɪˈd͡ʒɪsθəs/

From Latin Aegisthus, from Ancient Greek Αἴγισθος (Aígisthos).

(Greek mythology) The murderer of Agamemnon and lover of his wife Clytemnestra.


Phaëthontean

Borrowed from Latin Phaëthontēus + English -an.

Of, belonging to, or connected with Phaëthon.


Phaëthontiad

Borrowed from Latin Phaëthontias (stem: Phaëthontiad-).

bor

stem: <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">Phaëthontiad-</i>

(Greek mythology) Each of the sisters of Phaëthon.


Accalon

(Arthurian legend) The lover of Morgan le Fay.


Juturna

(Roman mythology) A goddess of fountains, wells and springs, and the mother of Fontus by Janus.


erotes

Regretfully, the shaft of the stele is lost, and only the central part of its gable is preserved, featuring a bust of the goddess, flanked by two Erotes.

1999, Yulia Ustinova, The Supreme Gods of the Bosporan Kingdom, BRILL, page 49:

There is also a parallel if less common iconography of the standing Narcissus (both alone with erotes—for example, from IX.3.5/24[…]—and with Echo and erotes—for example, Naples Museum[…].

2007, Jaś Elsner, Roman Eyes: Visuality and Subjectivity in Art and Text, Princeton University Press, unnumbered page:

The relative scarcity of children's sarcophagi (i.e. of child-sized sarcophagi) and specifically child-related iconographies. The Attic sarcophagi with Erotes are an exception to this.

2018, B. C. Ewald, “Attic Sarcophagi”, in Lucy Gaynor Audley-Miller, Beate Dignas, editors, Wandering Myths, De Gruyter, page 239:

(Greek mythology, often capitalised) Collectively, a group of winged gods attendant to Aphrodite, of whom Eros is the best known.


zombie apocalypse

en-noun

zombie apocalypse (plural zombie apocalypses)

(horror) A large-scale zombie outbreak associated with the collapse of society.


Bhadrakali

Unadapted borrowing from Sanskrit भद्रकाली (bhadrakālī, “Bhadrakali”).

ubor

(Hinduism) Name of a Hindu goddess in South India.


Bhadra

From the feminine of Sanskrit भद्र (bhadrá).

(Hinduism) A goddess of the hunt and one of Shiva's Gana.


Vaikuntha

Borrowed from Sanskrit वैकुण्ठ (vaikuṇṭhá).

(Hinduism) The Supreme abode or the celestial home of Vishnu.


Rem

(Egyptian mythology) An Egyptian fish god who fertilized the land with his tears.


Huginn

(Norse mythology) one of a pair of ravens, the other being Muninn, who fly throughout the world and report any unusual events back to Odin. They are essentially Odin's messengers


Sospita

From Latin Sospita (“One who Saves, Salvatrix, Savior”).


Achaeus

(Greek mythology) A male given name from Ancient Greek.


Buffyology

The academic study of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


Telemachian

en-adj

Telemachian (comparative more Telemachian, superlative most Telemachian)

more Telemachian (comparative)
most Telemachian (superlative)

(Greek mythology) Of or relating to Telemachus.


ice maiden

(mythology, fantasy) A woman who comes from a frozen climate.


Hippolyta

(Greek mythology) An Amazonian queen who possessed a magic girdle given to her by her father, Ares.


Pyramus

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) a Babylonian lover in the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe


Thisby

(mythology, archaic) a comically incorrect spelling of Thisbe used in A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare


Perigenia

(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Sinis


Cephalus

From the Ancient Greek κέφᾰλος (képhălos, “a species of mullet”).

der

(Greek mythology) An ancient Greek lover of Procris who accidentally slew her as she spied upon him.


Thyia

Ancient Greek, from θύω (thúō, “celebrate”)

(Greek mythology) the naiad of a spring on Mount Parnassos where the Thyiades of Dionysus gathered to revel


tarrasque

In the fantasy sense, introduced in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, derived from tarasque (“mythical European dragon”).


Verdandi

From Old Norse Verðandi, from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, wind”).

(Norse mythology) the Norn of the present


Amitābha

en-proper noun

Amitābha (usually uncountable, plural Amitābhas)

Amitābha
Five Dhyani Buddhas
Guimet Museum

Borrowed from Sanskrit अमिताभ (amitābha, “Immeasurable Light”), from अमित (amita, “unmeasured, boundless, infinite”) + आभा (ābhā, “splendor, light”).

bor

Devotion to Amitābha Buddha is found within most schools of the Mahāyāna, but is the essence of Pure Land practice, which centres on the ‘Buddha invocation’ (Ch. nien-fo, Jap. nembutsu). This is the repetition of ‘Nan-mo A-mi-t’o Fo’ (Ch.) or ‘Nama Amida Butsu’ (Jap.), translations of the Sanskrit ‘Namo Amitābhāya Buddhāya’, meaning ‘Hail to Amitābha Buddha’.

1990, Peter Harvey, “Buddhist Practice: Devotion”, in An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 187:

"Pure Land Buddhism" refers to a set of beliefs and practices that espouses for its aspirants the realization of the stage of non-retrogression (avaivartika; pu t'ui-chuan) either in the present life or through rebirth in a Buddha land or realm (Buddha-kṣetra; fo-kuo) called "Sukhāvatī" (Land of Bliss). […] The Buddha Amitāyus (Wu-liang-shou; Immeasurable Life) or Buddha Amitābha (Wu-liang-kuang; Immeasurable Light) is the 'transcendant' Buddha who presides over the Sukhāvatī world-realm.

1990, Kenneth K[en'ichi] Tanaka, “Pure Land Buddhist Development in India and China prior to Hui-yüan”, in The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine: Ching-ying Hui-yüan's Commentary on the Visualization Sutra (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies), Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, →ISBN, page 1:

The Shorter Sukhavativyuha Sutra is chiefly concerned with describing the wonders of Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land, although it also discusses in some detail the characteristics of Amitabha himself.

2004, Mark L. Blum, “Mahayana Scriptures”, in Kevin Trainor, editor, Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 202:

Less well recognized, however, is the central role played in much of early medieval Pure Land Buddhism by deathbed practices and accompanying beliefs about the radical salvific power of one's last nenbutsu, whether understood as the contemplation of the Buddha Amitābha (or Amitāyus, Jpn. Amida) or the invocation of his name.

2004, Jacqueline I. Stone, “By the Power of One's Last Nenbutsu: Deathbed Practices in Early Medieval Japan”, in Richard K[arl] Payne, Kenneth K[en'ichi] Tanaka, editors, Approaching the Land of Bliss: Religious Praxis in the Cult of Amitābha (Kuroda Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism; 17), Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawai‛i Press, →ISBN, page 77:

The overall programme of the Pure Land Hall represents the process of rebirth in Sukhāvatī, and the three standing Amitābhas in the shrine represent the three possible manifestations of Amitābha to the dying believer on earth, which is the beginning of that process.

2007, Amy McNair, “Salvation for One”, in Donors of Longmen: Faith, Politics, and Patronage in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Sculpture, Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawai‛i Press, →ISBN, pages 151–152:

In East Asia, the cult of Amitābha eventually became so widespread that it transcended sectarian distinction, and Amitābha became the most popular buddha in the region. In Tibet, Amitābha worship dates to the early propagation of Buddhism in that country in the eighth century, although it never became as prevalent as in East Asia.

2013, Robert E[vans] Buswell Jr., Donald S[ewell] Lopez Jr., “Amitābha”, in The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 35, column 1:

(Buddhism) A particular buddha; an artistic depiction of this buddha.

In Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the name of the principal buddha regarded as of celestial origin.

阿彌陀佛 /阿弥陀佛

Pure Land Buddhism: name of the principal buddha


wereboar

(fiction) A shapeshifter who can assume the form of a boar.


menk

Borrowed from Mansi (compare Northern Mansi менкв (menkv)).

This figure is called menk in Ob-Ugrian folklore and ritual.

1996, Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia, page 79:

Although doors were jammed shut, the menk burst in with huge birch masks covered with hair made of hay.

1999, Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, The Tenacity of Ethnicity: A Siberian Saga in Global Perspective:

A new documentary, “Russian Yeti: The Killer Lives” airing June 1 on the Discovery Channel explores the remote possibility that a “menk” — the Russian^([sic – meaning Mansi]) word for Yeti — may have been responsible.

2014, “Mysterious Deaths Of College Students Blamed On ‘Russian Yeti’”, in Huffington Post:

(Russia, cryptozoology, folklore) An animal described by the Mansi as a "forest giant", with anatomical features similar to a yeti, said to live in the area of Khantia-Mansia, Russia.


Teucer

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Τεῦκρος (Teûkros).

(Greek mythology) The son of King Telamon and Hesione, who fought in the Trojan War and was renowned for his skill in archery.


evennight

From Middle English *even-night, from Old English efnniht, from Proto-West Germanic *ebnanaht (“equinox”), equivalent to even- + night. Cognate with Old Frisian evennacht, ivinnacht, Old Norse jafnnætti. Compare also Dutch nachtevening (“equinox”).

inh

Ostara's Day is the first Sunday following the Spring Evennight, which means it can never be later than March 31, even when March 24 is the previous Sunday, and the old date is used, March 25, for the beginning of spring.

1992, Stephen A. McNallen, Maddy Hutter, The Runestone - Volumes 1-12:

"I have told the leaders of Kaar that wolves will only come back to the village if a krianan brings them. They are choosing a new krianan at their Spring Festival on Even Night."

2015, Dorothy Hearst, Spirit of the Wolves:

"I'll be there. At the even-night." Five months away.

2016, Victoria Whitworth, Daughter of the Wolf:

Belly round now with the child. Please bring Grandmother to me. The harvest had been gathered less than a month ago and in three days folk would be celebrating the 'even night', the feast of Mabon, when day and night were equal in length, and beer and wine would be drunk in huge amounts in thanksgiving of the safe bringing in of the earth's bounties.

2016, Joanna Courtney, Helen Hollick, Annie Whitehead, 1066 Turned Upside Down:

(rare, historical, Germanic paganism) Equinox.


Chaon

Andromache informs Aeneas that Helenus named the region Chaonia after the Trojan Chaon (334-5).

1997, Michael Paschalis, Virgil's Aeneid: Semantic Relations and Proper Names, Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), page 132:

(Greek mythology) A character in Virgil's Aeneid: a Trojan hero, a companion or perhaps brother of Helenus, and the eponym of Chaonia and the Chaonians.


Nut

Borrowed from Egyptian nwt (“Nut, sky”).

(Egyptian mythology) The goddess who serves as the personification of the sky.


burninate

en-verb

burninate (third-person singular simple present burninates, present participle burninating, simple past and past participle burninated)

burninates (present singular third-person)
burninating (participle present)
burninated (participle past)
burninated (past)

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

Back-formation from Burninator, from the original character Trogdor the Burninator from the Homestar Runner series of web cartoons.

Burninating the countryside! / Burninating the peasants! / Burninating all the people! / In their thatched-roof COTTAGES!!

2003 January 13, Michael Chapman; Matthew Chapman, “Strong Bad Email #58: dragon”, in Homestar Runner, spoken by Strong Bad (Matthew Chapman):

Although the language may not be going to hell in a handbasket — what is a handbasket, anyway? — some of its speakers appear ready to burninate a noob.

2008, Mark Abley, The Prodigal Tongue: Dispatches from the Future of English, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 24:

These wars were often fought by mercenaries' armies who—while going about busily pillaging and “burninating the countryside”—were often more concerned with (a) not dying and (b) looting and carrying off maidens than any particular religious ideals.

2016, Christopher Ben Simpson, Modern Christian Theology, T&T Clark, →ISBN, page 37:

(slang, humorous) To destroy by fire; to burn.


Chironian

(Greek mythology, astronomy) Pertaining to Chiron.


Epona

Ultimately from a suffixed form of Gaulish epos (“horse”), from Proto-Celtic *ekʷos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos.

(mythology) In Gallo-Roman religion, a goddess of fertility and protector of horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules.


Ino

(Greek mythology) A queen of Boeotia who, after her death and transfiguration, was worshipped as a goddess under the epithet Leucothea.


Palatua

(Roman mythology) The tutelary goddess of the Palatine.


Vestal

(mythology) Alternative form of vestal (Pertaining to the goddess Vesta)


Coraniaid

(Celtic mythology) A race of beings from Welsh mythology, having such sharp hearing that they can hear any word carried by the wind and thus avoid danger.


Pyrrha

(Greek mythology) The wife of Deucalion.


Creon

It has often been observed that Creon imputes corrupt motives (here and to Teiresias), because this was a level of motivation within his comprehension.

1980, R. P. Winnington-Ingram, Sophocles: An Interpretation, →ISBN, page 126:

Above all -- and this is of central importance in connection with the legal implications -- it is essential to understand that Creon must emerge as an appropriate counterweight to the obsessive energy of Antigone: that "Antigone's fate provides the foil for Creon and, in turn, Creon's fate becomes evident only against the background of Antigone's desitiny.

2003, Theodore Ziolkowski, The Mirror of Justice: Literary Reflections of Legal Crises, →ISBN, page 152:

Perhaps more than any other figure in the Oedipus Trilogy, Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law, seems to be a very different character in each of the plays.

2011, Regina Higgins, Charles Higgins, Cliffs Notes on Sophocles' Oedipus Trilogy, →ISBN, page 81:

(Greek mythology) King of Thebes, noted primarily in the stories of Antigone and Oedipus.


Ogygia

/əʊˈdʒɪdʒiə/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὠγυγία (Ōgugía).

(Greek mythology) The island home of the nymph Calypso, where she entertained Odysseus for seven years.


Valgrind

From Old Norse Valgrind, from valr (“dead warrior”) + grind (“gate”).

(Norse mythology) The main entrance to Valhalla in Norse mythology.


Gello

From Ancient Greek Γελλώ (Gellṓ), perhaps from Akkadian; see Γελλώ (Gellṓ) for more.

spontaneous abortion
spontaneous abortion

(Greek mythology) A female demon or revenant who threatens the reproductive cycle by causing infertility, spontaneous abortion, and infant mortality.


Thyestes

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Θυέστης (Thuéstēs).

(Greek mythology) A king of Olympia; the son of Pelops and Hippodamia; and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. He and his brother Atreus were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother Chrysippus.


Ladon

(Greek mythology) A serpent-like dragon that twined around the tree in the Garden of the Hesperides and guarded the golden apples.


Byblis

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Βυβλίς (Bublís).

(Greek mythology) A daughter of Miletus who fell in love with Caunus, her twin brother.


Thalestris

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Θάληστρις (Thálēstris).

Victory must now have fallen to the side of the travellers (for the bravest troops must yield to numbers) had not Susan the chambermaid come luckily to support her mistress. This Susan was as two-handed a wench (according to the phrase) as any in the country, and would, I believe, have beat the famed Thalestris herself, or any of her subject Amazons; for her form was robust and man-like, and every way made for such encounters.

1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

(Greek mythology) The queen of the Amazons, said to have brought 300 women to Alexander the Great, hoping to breed a race of children as strong and intelligent as he.


Airavata

From Sanskrit ऐरावत (airāvata, “produced from the ocean”).


Ambika

From Sanskrit अम्बिका (ambikā, “mother, good woman”).


Tian

The pinyin romanization of Mandarin 天 (Tiān).

...‘Heaven’ as we use it throughout the book is only a convenient but inaccurate translation of the Chinese character tian. Heaven in Chinese religions as well as in the Confucian tradition has multidimensional implications... In its metaphysical and physical connotation, Heaven... refers to... Nature. Applied in the spiritual realm, it signifies an anthropomorphic Lord or a Supreme Being who presides in Heaven, and rules over or governs directly the spiritual and material worlds.

2000, Yao Xinzhong, An Introduction to Confucianism, page 142:

Supreme being in Chinese philosophy and religion. He rules over lesser gods, humankind, and controls the cosmos. The word Tian may also refer to Heaven. As a god, Tian is often seen as an impersonal power...

2003, Constance Victoria Briggs, The Encyclopedia of God, s.v. "Tian"::

It was not just the sky, but a god with wills and intentions, seen as sovereign of all... In fact, "Tian" was another reverent term to address the supreme god: "Heaven, for the help of the inferior people, made for them rulers, and made for them instructors" ("Great Declaration I" in the Book of History)...

2018, Zhuo Xinping, Religious Faith of the Chinese, page 58:

(Chinese mythology) Synonym of Heaven: simultaneously conceived as the Heavens, Nature, and an anthropomorphic supreme God.


Patroclus

From Latin Patroclus, from Ancient Greek Πάτροκλος (Pátroklos).

(Greek mythology) A character in the Iliad, known for his close relationship to Achilles.


Victory

en-proper noun

Victory (countable and uncountable, plural Victorys or Victories)

All along the Champs Elysées were […] statues of plaster representing nymphs, triumphs, victories, and other female personages painted in oil so as to represent marble; real marble could have had no better effect, and the appearance of the whole was lively and picturesque in the extreme.

1841, M. A. Titmarsh [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], “Mr. Titmarsh to Miss Smith on the Second Funeral of Napoleon. Letter III. The Funeral Ceremony.”, in The Second Funeral of Napoleon: […] And The Chronicle of the Drum. […], London: Hugh Cunningham, […], →OCLC, page 63:

The two reverse groupings which originate on sestertii of Hadrian (BMCCRE III, pl. 79, 7), continue through the coinage of Caracalla, and show Victory floating or standing to the left or right with a standard or trophy held crosswise and extended in the hands are nothing more than the translations of similarly arranged Victoriae from the spandrels of triumphal arches to coin reverses.

1953, Gnomon: Kritische Zeitschrift für die gesamte klassische Altertumswissenschaft, pages 475–476:

Behind Roma seated with Victoriola on the exten ded^([sic]) hand a full-sized Victory approaches from the right with crown and palm.

1974, The Goddess Roma in the Art of the Roman Empire, page 44:

We know from Dio that, when the Curia Iulia, begun by Caesar in 44 B.C., was finally dedicated in 29 B.C., Octavian set up a statue of Victory beside the altar of Victoria which he also dedicated there (51, 22, 2).[…]The type, which inspired innumerable copies, appears on coins by 31 B.C., if not earlier, and shows such a Victory holding in the right hand a wreath and in the left a palm branch, occasionally other attributes. Four years later, when Augustus received the clupeus virtutis, this was placed near the statue of Victory in the Curia Iulia.[…]The fact that there are two Victories at Lugdunum raises a different question, however.

1993, Duncan Fishwick, “The Twin Victories”, in The Imperial Cult in the Latin West, 2nd edition, volume I,1, E.J. Brill, →ISBN, book I, chapter “Roma et Augustus”, subchapter “The Altar of the Three Gauls”, pages 111–112:

(uncountable, Roman mythology) Synonym of Victoria (“the Roman goddess of victory, the counterpart of the Greek goddess Nike”); also (countable), an artistic depiction of her, chiefly as a winged woman.


Shu

Borrowed from Egyptian šw (“Shu”, literally “Emptiness”), a derivative of the verb šwj (“to be empty, devoid of”).

bor

(Egyptian mythology) A god personifying the air and atmosphere.


Wayland

From Old English Wēland, related to Old Norse Vǫlundr, Old High German Wiolant (German Wieland). Cf. English wile.

(mythology) A legendary blacksmith in Germanic mythology.


Tien

(Chinese mythology) Alternative form of Tian: Heaven, simultaneously conceived as the Heavens, Nature, and an anthropomorphic supreme God.


pontianak

en-noun

pontianak (countable and uncountable, plural pontianaks)

One of the most fearsome creatures of Malay folklore is the pontianak.

2009, Andrew Hock-Soon Ng, “"Death and the Maide": The Pontianak as Excess in Malay Popular Culture”, in John Edgar Browning, Caroline Joan Picart, editors, Draculas, Vampires, and Other Undead Forms: Essays on Gender, Race and Culture:

(countable) A female vampiric ghost in Malaysian and Indonesian mythology, said to be the spirit of a woman who died while pregnant.


Maheshwari

From Sanskrit महेश्वरी (maheśvarī); ultimately from महा (mahā, “great”) + ईश्वरी (īśvarī, “goddess”).


Carmean

(mythology) Of or relating to the consort of Zeus Carme in Greek mythology.


lindwyrm

Cognate with Old Norse linnormr (“constrictor snake”), Norwegian lindorm (“serpent”), German Lindwurm (“dragon”).
The word wyrm is a contemporary or recent borrowing from the Old English word wyrm.

cog

Lindwyrms are wingless dragons that look like huge snakes. Some lindwyrms have two tiny feet that are almost useless.

2008, Matt Doeden, Dragon Life, →ISBN, page 24:

I've seen her plug a lindwyrm through the eyestalk from a moving helicopter.

2012, Larry Correia, The Monster Hunters, →ISBN:

That lindwyrm'll keep you safe.

2013, Christina Mercer, Arrow of the Mist, →ISBN:


Senectus

(Roman mythology) A son of Nox and the spirit of old age. He is the Roman equivalent of Geras.


Tmolus

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Τμῶλος (Tmôlos).

(Greek mythology) A king of Lydia and husband to Omphale.

The cicale above in the lime, / And the lizards below in the grass, / Were as silent as ever old Tmolus was, / Listening to my sweet pipings.

a. 1823 (date written), Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Hymn of Pan”, in Mary W[ollstonecraft] Shelley, editor, Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley, London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for John and Henry L[eigh] Hunt, […], published 1824, →OCLC, page 169:

(mythology) A mountain, Mount Tmolus, the modern Bozdağ.


shikigami

(Japanese mythology) A kind of ghost or spirit in Japanese folklore.


skymaiden

(mythology) A young woman who comes from the sky.


Suen

(Mesopotamian mythology) Synonym of Nanna (god of the moon)


Atum

Borrowed from Coptic ⲁⲧⲟⲩⲙ (atoum, “Atum”), from Egyptian tm (“Atum”).

(Egyptian mythology) The creator god of Heliopolis, the original source of all matter, associated with the evening sun.


Geb

Borrowed from Egyptian gbb (“Geb, earth”).

(Egyptian mythology) The god who serves as the personification of the earth.


Mirkwood

From Old Norse Myrkviðr (“murky wood; dark wood; black forest”), as anglicised by William Morris and later adopted by J. R. R. Tolkien. Direct derivatives of the name occur as place names in Sweden and Norway.

cal

(mythology) Any of several European forests in Germanic mythology.


nuckelavee

From Orcadian Scots knoggelvi, from Scots neugle (“water spirit in the form of a horse”). Related to English nicker (“water demon”).

der

An aquatic horse-like demon from Orcadian mythology, said to cause droughts and epidemics and to harm crops and animals.


Hippodamia

/ˌhɪpɒdəˈmaɪə/

From Ancient Greek Ἱπποδάμεια (Hippodámeia).

Restored to life, Pelops competes for Hippodamia against her father Oenomaus, who dies cursing Pelops' family.

2007, Marianthe Colakis, Mary Joan Masello, Classical Mythology & More: A Reader Workbook, Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, →ISBN, page 207:

(Greek mythology) Various female Ancient Greek mythological figures, especially the queen of Pisa as the wife of Pelops.


nasnas

(Islam, folklore) A monstrous creature related to the jinn, said to resemble the left or right half of a human being (with half a head, half a body, one arm and one leg).


Chryseis

(Greek mythology) A character in the Iliad.


Briseis

Borrowing from Ancient Greek Βρισηΐς (Brisēḯs, “daughter of Briseus/Brises”).

bor

So Akhilleus calls an assembly — any oddness in his doing so at this juncture is mitigated by Thetis' instructions (34–6) — and much of the Book is occupied with the speeches of reconciliation and the handing over of Briseis and Agamemnon's gifts.

1991, Mark W. Edwards, The Iliad: A Commentary: Volume V, books 17–20, Cambridge University Press, published 1995, page 234:

1993 [Random House (Knopf)], Tim Parks (translator), Roberto Calasso, The Marriage Of Cadmus And Harmony, 1994, Random House (Vintage), page 90,
And the Iliad was founded on a play of words, the substitution of a couple of letters in a name. Briseis, Chryseis. The bone of contention that triggers the poem is Briseis kallipárēos, Briseis “of the lovely cheeks”: Agamemnon wants her exchanged with, or substituted for, Chryseis kallipárēos, Chryseis “of the lovely cheeks." In Greek only two letters separate the two girls.

The character of Briseis and the story of her relationship with Achilles stand in the background of the entire Iliad: the poem opens, literally, with Achilles' anger, which at 1.298–9 turns out to be caused by Briseis’ abduction on Agamemnon's order, and ends shortly after Achilles sleeps with her once again in his tent (24.675-6).

2012, Marco Fantuzzi, Achilles in Love: Intertextual Studies, Oxford University Press, page 99:

(Greek mythology) A legendary figure who features in the Iliad; a princess granted as concubine to Achilles after the sacking of her city, Lyrnessus, before the beginning of the story.


kamuy

A spiritual or divine being in Ainu mythology, similar to the Japanese kami.


Bifrost

Yet Asgard is always prey to attacks, so Bifrost is guarded by Heimdall, the most astounding of sentries.

2001, Raymond L. Lee, Alistair B. Fraser, The Rainbow Bridge: Rainbows in Art, Myth, and Science, →ISBN, page 33:

The Younger Edda tells us that Asgard is an island surrounded by ocean that lies west of Europe and which is accessed by means of the rainbow bridge, Bifrost. Hence Asgard, like Atlantis, represents the North American ice sheet. Like Atlantis, Asgard has outlying colonies that lie "along the outer strand of that sea." The Bifrost bridge most likely signifies the ice sheet bridge that spanned Baffin Bay and the North Sea to connect the North American and Greenland ice sheets with the European ice sheet.

2005, Paul A. LaViolette, Earth Under Fire: Humanity's Survival of the Ice Age, →ISBN, page 250:

The only member of the Æsir not permitted to cross on Bifrost was Thor, the son of Odin and Jordr. Everyone feared Bifrost would bend and break under the weight of the mighty thundergod.

2010, Heilan Yvette Grimes, The Norse Myths, →ISBN, page 16:

In W. Petrie's book "The Story of the Aurora Borealis” (1963) it reads the following: “One can produce arguments that suggest Bifrost was the aurora."

2012, A. Brekke, A. Egeland, The Northern Light: From Mythology to Space Research, →ISBN, page 18:

(Norse mythology) The rainbow bridge that connects Asgard with Midgard.


brahmarakshasa

From Sanskrit ब्रह्मराक्षस (brahmarākṣasa).

ब्रह्मराक्षस

A brahmarakshasa had been pestering the rishi to give his daughter in marriage to him.

Buddhidan stood in his drawing room like a Brahmarakshas in a forest.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 83

(Hindu mythology) The spirit of an evil Brahmin; a demon, an evil spirit.


Ennead

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἐννεάς (Enneás), itself a calque of Egyptian psḏt (“nine, nineness, ennead”), from psḏw (“nine”).

calque

(Egyptian mythology) The collection of nine gods worshipped at Heliopolis and taking part in the Heliopolitan creation myth, together representing the sum of all the elements of the created world: Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Nut, Geb, Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys.


vampirina

Star, Old Mother Hubbard, Vampirina. She herself had bestowed the titles.

1922, William Rose Benét, The First Person Singular, page 13:

If the blonde vampirina was truly beautiful, then this vampirina was even more so.

2013, Rick Hall, The Chosen One, page 274:


Tefnut

Borrowed from Egyptian tfnwt, tfnt (“Tefnut”).

(Egyptian mythology) A goddess of the Heliopolitan Ennead, commonly taken to be a personification of moisture


glawackus

(New England, mythology) A mythical monster resembling a mixture of a bear, panther, and lion, and having a fearsome screech.


myling

(Scandinavian mythology) The soul of a dead but unbaptized child that roams the Earth.


werewoman

(mythology) A woman who takes the form of an animal through a process of lycanthropy.


Arimaspi

(mythology) A legendary tribe of one-eyed people of northern Scythia, described by Herodotus.


pixiu

Borrowed from the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 貔貅 (píxiū).

(Chinese mythology) A mythical Chinese creature resembling a winged lion, supposed to bring wealth.


Aristaean

en-adj

Aristaean (comparative more Aristaean, superlative most Aristaean)

more Aristaean (comparative)
most Aristaean (superlative)

(Greek mythology) Of or relating to Aristaeus.


Venti

1858, John Brougham, Neptune’s Defeat, New York: Sameuel French, Act I, Scene 3, p. 15,
Boreas, old buster, go unlock the cave
of Æolus, and let the Venti rave.

(Roman mythology) The four Roman gods of the winds (Aquilo, Favonius, Auster, and Eurus, who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came), considered collectively.


Red Jews

(mythology) A legendary Jewish nation mentioned in vernacular sources from medieval Germany. They were said to be an epochal threat to Christendom, who would invade Europe during the tribulations leading to the end of the world.


diwata

Borrowed from Cebuano diwata, from Proto-Visayan *diwata, from Malay dewata, from Sanskrit देवता (devatā, “god, deity”).

(mythology, folklore) In Filipino folklore, a spirit, usually a lesser god or goddess, believed to guard natural features such as forests.


rougarou

From Cajun French rougarou (“werewolf”).

Like the European werewolf and loup-garou, the French Canadian rougarou also often appears in the form of a dog. Whoever neglects his Easter duties or goes unconfessed for seven years finds himself changed into a rougarou at night.

1961, Maria Leach, God Had a Dog: Folklore of the Dog:

“I told you, I'm not the rougarou. And if I say anything, the rougarou will kill me. I may be old, but I don't want to go that way.” “Selena, I'm going to hurt you worse than any rougarou.”

2016, Heather Graham, Blood on the Bayou: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella, Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated, →ISBN:

“The rougarou—him's a big, bad wolf.” “Bad?” asked Lizabeth. “What do you mean?”

2016, Jonathan Maberry, The Orphan Army, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 78:

(folklore) A werewolf or werewolf-like creature said to inhabit swamps in Louisiana (and sometimes French Canadian) folklore.


Sobek

bor+

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

(Egyptian mythology) An ancient Egyptian deity associated with the crocodile.


cold iron

(mythology) a (possibly fictional) substance harmful to fairies; depending on the story, ordinary iron or iron treated in some way


sidehill gouger

en-noun

sidehill gouger (plural sidehill gougers)

A creature from North American folklore, adapted to living on hillsides by having legs shorter on one side than on the other.


Xiangyao

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 相繇 (Xiāngyáo).

(Chinese mythology) Synonym of Xiangliu, a monster.


Xiangliu

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 相柳 (Xiāngliǔ).

(Chinese mythology) A hydra-like monster which terrorized the world in prehistory.


Kanghui

(Chinese mythology) Personal name of Gonggong, a monster.


Gonggong

/ˈɡɔŋ(ˈ)ɡɔŋ/

225088 Gonggong
Cambridge University Press
Gonggong

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 共工 (Gònggōng) (or 龔工／龚工 (Gōnggōng)), the name of the mythological figure.

(Chinese mythology) A water god or monster who terrorized prehistoric China


Kumari Kandam

From Tamil குமரிக்கண்டம் (kumarikkaṇṭam).

bor

குமரிக்கண்டம்

(mythology) A mythical lost continent in the Indian Ocean, home to an ancient Tamil civilisation.


Utgard

Learned borrowing from Old Norse Útgarðar (“Outer Holds”). Compare to Norwegian Nynorsk utgard (“outer yard, forest space”)

cog

(Norse mythology) The abode of the giant Utgard-Loki, on the other side of the great sea that surrounds Midgard.


spriggan

Borrowed from Cornish spyrysyon (“spirits; fairies”).

In Cornish folklore, a malicious spirit in the form of a wizened old man.


goblette

"I am Gwendolyn Goblin, soon to be chief on Goblin Mountain. Now get out of the way before I move you out."
"Ho, ho, ho. It is to laugh. You can't move me out, you skirted goblette. You must pay"
..
"So you're stuck, goblette," Hugh Mongous said. "Pay."
"This is outrageous!" Gwenndy said, stamping her little foot.
..
“Cups, glasses, containers, bottles, mugs—”
“Goblets?”
"Whatever."
“Nothing interesting,” Gwenny said, hoping the demoness would go away. There was no point in correcting her about the distinction between a goblet and a goblette, or in reminding her that there was only one goblin in this party. They had enough problems without having them complicated by a supernatural creature. Demonesses were supposed to be less worse than demons, being mischievous rather than mean, but their mischief could be formidable.

1992 "The Color of Her Panties" book 15 in Piers Anthony's Xanth series page 29

A girl Goblin. Happy Halloween to all you Goblins and Goblettes!

My dear, dear goblette, there is really nothing to it.

2015 "Goblin" The Adventures of Puss in Boots (Puss speaking to Cleevil)

I decided a "Goblette" was a shortstacked android goblin girl.


Lukomorye

From Russian Лукомо́рье (Lukomórʹje, literally “the curve of the sea”).

bor

(folklore, Slavic mythology) A fictional land in Russian folklore.

Loukomorie

a fictional land in the Russian folklore


hircocervus

From Latin hircus (“goat”) + cervus (“stag”).

A legendary creature described as being a stag and goat hybrid, the hircocervus (“he-goat stag”) is said to have appeared in medieval bestiaries but there are no specific legends about them.

2016, Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore, page 158:

(mythology) A mythical creature, half goat, half stag.


Momus

From Ancient Greek Μῶμος (Mômos), whose name is related to μομφή (momphḗ, “blame, reproach”).

The extraordinary section of the poem that here follows is based on the mythological story of Momus, expanded by the fancy of the modern poet. The story ran that Momus, "the jester", was hurled off Olympus by the other gods, who could not endure his satirical criticism. When Zeus gave the "fatal kick" that sent Momus off Olympus, it was fatal not so much to Momus as to the mountain of the gods, although apparently Olympus still aspired to heaven, while Momus went limping, crippled by his fall. But the gods, lacking the criticism of his Comic Spirit, rapidly degenerated, and soon fell to earth.

1912 G. M. TREVELYAN (in notes to The Poetical Works of George Meredith)

(Greek mythology) The personification of satire and mockery.


wonderbeast

From wonder + beast. Compare Dutch wonderbeest, German Wundertier.

"He is no wonderbeast at all," replied Salmo calmly. "Just an ordinary otter. […]"

Otherwise they were marvellous wonderbeasts – half man, half fish – that had more acrobatic pep than a seal and a big knife to boot.

2011, Gregor Salmon, Navy Divers, page 97:

We drew nearer the wonder-beast so as to assure ourselves she was real.

(fantasy) A magical, mystical, or mythological creature


piskie

The farmer slunk away unperceived, and went to bed, where he lay a long while awake, thinking in what way he could best shew his gratitude to the piskie for such an important Service.

1865, Popular Romances of the West of England:

The piskie was in the shape of a man — very dark, black-haired, and cross-eyed.

1906, J. Henry Harris, Cornish Saints & Sinners:

Glister was determined to prove the wizened piskie wrong, but its taunts were well founded.

(mythology, fantasy literature, fairy tales) Alternative form of pixie (supernatural being): A playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature.


Demetrian

en-adj

Demetrian (comparative more Demetrian, superlative most Demetrian)

more Demetrian (comparative)
most Demetrian (superlative)

(Greek mythology) Of or relating to Demeter.


grundylow

(UK, folklore, mythology) Alternative form of grindylow


grindylow

Possibly connected to Grendel, the monster from the epic Beowulf.

(UK, folklore, mythology) A folkloric creature, said to inhabit water and to grab children with its long sinewy arms and drown them.


Twilight of the Gods

From German Götterdämmerung (“twilight of the gods”); by erroneously translating Old Norse ragnarǫk (“fate of the gods”), misconstrued as ragnarøkkr (“twilight of the gods”).


Mezentius

(Roman mythology) The king of Caere and ally of Turnus.


Bukvitsa

The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church declared Slavic writings (Bukvitsa, Runes, etc.) to be black magic and demonic writings; the result of which was the loss by the Slavic people of the ability to learn the ancestral experience of their Ancestors.

2016, Dmitriy Kushnir, Slava Rodu Magazine: Issue #1, page 49:

A pseudohistorical alphabet based on Cyrillic, created by Russian neopagan esoteric A. Yu. Khinevich, founder of Ynglism, but having no connection with historical Slavic writings.


Gormflaith

The order of place names in the verses indicates that Olaf was Gormflaith's first husband.

2005, Benjamin T. Hudson, Viking Pirates and Christian Princes:

In any case, the intruder also knew that the High King never slept with his wife, the lady Gormflaith, these days. So now, unless the High King had invited someone else to his bed, he would be found alone.

2010, Peter Tremayne, Dancing with Demons:

Another daughter of Flann Sinna, Gormflaith, is presented to us in the literature as a genuine historic queen, a scheming queen, and a sovereignty goddess.

2013, Pauline Stafford, A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c.500–c.1100:

(chiefly mythology) A female given name from Irish


valknut

Derived from Old Norse valr (“the slain”) and Old Norse knútr (“a knot”), meaning "knot of the slain". The term was coined in later history, as it is not known what name was used by the historical Norse for that symbol.

A symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles, used by ancient Germanic peoples, but of uncertain meaning.


jumbie

From Kongo zumbi (“fetish”). Doublet of zombie.

If one wants to see “jumbies” “duppies” ghosts, all that is necessary is to put in your eye the tears from the eyes of a pie-bald horse. It is no use explaining to a negro that what he has taken to be a “jumbie” or apparition, is a tree or rock or other natural object.

1882, G.H. Hawtayne, “Occasional notes: West Indian Folk-lore”, in Timehri: Being the Journal of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana, volume 1, page 145:

Jethro stomped away up the hill, though the trail was supposed to be haunted by spirits of the dead called jumbies. He didn't care. He didn't believe in jumbies.

1979, Susan Cooper, Jethro and the Jumbie, page 5:

(chiefly Caribbean) A ghost or evil spirit.


shag-boy

From hogboy, from Old Norse haugr (“cairn; mound”) + bui (“dweller; tennant”). Cognate with Scots hogboon and Old Norse haugbúi.

af

Ghosts, bogies, and the supernatural generally have utterly vanished from this commonplace district before schools and newspapers. Even an old lady more than ninety years old said to us, "Fairies and shag-boys! lasses are often skeart at them, but I never saw none, though I have passed many a time after dark a most terrible spot for them on the road at Thorpe."

1882 August, “From the Heart of the Wolds”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume 46, number 2, page 232:


Oenomaus

(Greek mythology) A king of Pisa, son of Ares and father of Hippodamia.


namahage

A demon-like being in Japanese folklore, portrayed by men in ogre masks and traditional straw capes during a New Year's ritual of admonishing badly-behaved children.


Pendragon

It befell in the days of Uther Pendragon, when he was king of all England, and so reigned, that there was a mighty duke in Cornwall that held war against him long time.

1485, Thomas Malory, chapter 1, in Le Morte D'Arthur, book I:

(Arthurian legend) An epithet of Uther, the father of King Arthur.

At last he got his breath and answer'd, 'One, / One have I seen—that other, our liege lord, / The dread Pendragon, Britain's king of kings, / Of whom the people talk mysteriously, / He will be there—then were I stricken blind / That minute, I might say that I have seen.'

1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Elaine”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 169:

(Arthurian legend) An epithet or surname of King Arthur.


Actaeon

From Latin Actaeōn, from Ancient Greek Ἀκταίων (Aktaíōn).
In Greek mythology, Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag with horns on his head. In European folklore, horns were considered the sign of a cuckold, whence the noun sense of Actaeon, "cuckold", and the verb sense "to cuckold", are derived. Compare horned, put horns on, etc.

Amid so much prosperity, it was one of his grandsons, Actaeon, who first brought distress to Cadmus, when antlers, foreign to his human shape, sprouted from the youth's forehead, and his hounds gorged themselves on their master's blood.

1979, Eric S. Rabkin, Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales, and Stories, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 62:

(Greek mythology) Grandson of Cadmus, transformed into a stag by Artemis in book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses.


Bellerophon

From Ancient Greek Βελλεροφῶν, Βελλεροφόντης (Bellerophôn, Bellerophóntēs).

der

Βελλεροφῶν, Βελλεροφόντης

(Greek mythology) A mythical hero, best known for slaying the Chimera.


Melusine

(mythology) A figure of European folklore and mythology (mostly Celtic), a female spirit of fresh water in a sacred spring or river, usually depicted as a serpent or fish from the waist down, and sometimes with wings.


Melusina

(mythology) Alternative form of Melusine


Laius

From Latin Lāius, from Ancient Greek Λᾱ́ῐ̈ος (Lā́ĭ̈os).

(Greek mythology) The father of Oedipus and husband of Jocasta


Phrixus

(Greek mythology) Son of Athamas and brother of Helle, with whom he fled to Colchis on a golden winged ram.


Nessus

(Greek mythology) A centaur killed by Heracles, whose tainted blood in turn killed Heracles.


Otrera

From Latin Otrēra, from Ancient Greek Ὀτρήρη (Otrḗrē).

(Greek mythology) the creator and first Queen of the Amazons


Adithya

A male given name from Sanskrit mainly used in India.


Mengidabrutkoel

(mythology) A spider demigod in Palauan mythology who introduced natural childbirth.


orcess

My gaze fell on an orcess. It was the first time I'd seen a woman from the race of the Firstborn. She looked a lot like Miralissa, except that her hair wasn't gathered into a braid, but a long tail. The orcess was armed with two crooked swords

Kalatea was an orc-more precisely an orcish madien. Hmm...Or is it orcess? I don't know what the proper term for her was, but the main gist was evident-she was large and green.

2018, The Phantom Castle: The Way of the Shaman: Book #4 LitRPG series, page 64:

"And this is my vassal Mahk the Orcess," I gestured towards my imposing pet. She simply grunted. Orcs hated social formalities.

2018, The Shadow of the Rogue: The Rogue's Gambit, page 69:


trolless

The villanous trolless devoured them sitting on a rock, and kicking it with her heels.

1864, The Dublin University Magazine, volume 64, page 70:

No doubt the "seesaw action" that so often accompanied news of Andre's discoveries was not unfamiliar to the "trolless," who had come to expect that her accomplishments would not meet with the same sort of awe and tearful joy as her brother's.

1988, Between the Human and the Divine: The Political Thought of Simone Weil, page 17:

“You treat me like I look,” a young trolless had once accused Conrad, on a crowded street at Festival time. Conrad's crime: stepping away from her so as not to loom. And his reply: “Obviously, miss. Our appearance is the first thing we say to the people around us, and yours is a scream of defiance." To her credit, the trolless had giggled at that, and winked an enormous eyelid

I have chosen you as my new queen, a trolless who can walk the world freely by day or by night. From you shall spring a new race, one able to fight under the light of moon or sun, moonslipping or sunslipping at will.

The end result of a brief but fruitful liaison between a lonely shepherd and a sex-mad rock-trolless, Sawn-off Sam was a maniac at the best of times.

Despite Kyleah's fears that Elwyn had married a trolless in disguise, her trollog traits receded and rarely showed themselves again—even when she was hungry.

The Trolless, whose interactions with humans were normally limited to screamed obscenities and mutual attempts at decapitation, found herself gnashing her fangs and reflexively reaching to the hip of her armored skirt.

2010, World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Philosopher King, page 21:

A mountain trolless made a proposal to a knight, Speaking in her forked tongue

2010, Twilight Forever Rising, page 333:

Babu Racthu gestured to his warriors. "Stake him out for the wildthings-kill the troll-bitch!"
"You jump to conclusions!" Pulfifer protested as the warriors dismounted and came toward hi. "The trolless helped me escape her tribe, and is escorting me to the border of their domain! She herself is a rare treasure, a curiosity fit for the mangerie of any collector of obscure life-forms! As you know, females of her species are rarely, if ever, seen by human eyes!"

2012, The Pulsifer Saga: Deluxe 3rd Illustrated Edition, page 99:

Drimblerod shook loose of the Trolless to face Grimbledung, "Or else what?!" He demanded. "Are you insane? Or else this troll..."
"Trolless" corrected the Trolless.
"Trolless" continued Drimblerod, "will pop my head off like a cherry. Why are trying to provoke it?"
"Her" corrected the Trolless testily.
"Her." Agreed Grimbledung, "Definitely a her." He looked her up and down. Hungrily.
The Trolless blushed, "Why thank you my little Gnome."
"Listen, Mistress Troll," began Drimbleroad

2013, Tales From A Second Hand Wand Shoppe, page 62:

The trolless rushed into the darkness. Elpis turned to her. The Pendant shone a scene of desperation adn seduction. The trolless stretched upon an alter, slabs and sides askewed

2014, The Garden of Hope and Despair: A Clash of Myths, page 152:

The little trolless spins on her heels and runs back into the cavern.

2014, Warriors: I Bring the Fire Part V ~ A Story for Fans of Norse Mythology, page 108:

He picks up a picture of him, sitting on the lap of a cute curvaceous trolless. He smiles at the memory. That had been the best. He never meant to play have-carnal-relations-with-as-many-hominids-as-possible bingo with Loki; but he won anyhow.

2015, The Fire Bringers: An I Bring the Fire Short Story:

Perhaps, when he had completed two or three rooms by himself, some wandering trolless would come along to help.

2017, A Man of His Word: The Complete Series, page 702:


Atreus

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀτρεύς (Atreús).

(Greek mythology) A mythological king of Mycenae and son of Pelops and Hippodamia.


mammophant

However, several generations of “mammophant” breeding would be necessary before it would be possible to sire a genetically “pure” mammoth.

2002, Allen A. Debus, Diane E. Debus, Dinosaur Memories, page 186:

Herds of mammophants pining for the fjords aren’t quite within the realm of what’s possible.

2017 February 22, Mark Carnall, The Guardian:

Church and his team plan to create the mammophant by endowing the egg cell of an Asian elephant with the genes for red blood cells that operate efficiently at low temperature, an enhanced fat layer under the skin, and a luxuriant covering of hair and fur - all from the woolly mammoth genome.

2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 309:

A (hypothetical) cross between a woolly mammoth and an elephant.


Gorlois

The name first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136).

(mythology) The husband of Igraine prior to Uther Pendragon, in Arthurian legend.


snallygaster

In American folklore, a dragon-like beast said to inhabit central Maryland and neighbouring regions.


Priapos

(Greek mythology) Alternative form of Priapus


Yushan

(Chinese mythology) Jade Mountain, a mythological mountain and residence of The Queen Mother of the West


Até

(Greek mythology) A goddess of mischief, delusion, ruin, and folly, the daughter either of Zeus or of Eris.


Macris

(Greek mythology) A daughter of Aristaeus and Autonoe.


swan maiden

(mythology) A woman able to shapeshift between human and swan forms.


Claíomh Solais

From Irish Claíomh Solais (literally “Sword of Light”).

bor

(Irish mythology) The "Sword of Light", one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann which belonged to Núadu.


vampirehood

Not that he feels nostalgic for his mortal origins; after all, he was desperately unhappy, at least immediately prior to his vampirehood. Neither is Louis's unhappiness principally because of his lack of vampire colleagues.

2008, Charles Pinches, Jay B. McDaniel, Good News for Animals?: Christian Approaches to Animal Well-Being, →ISBN, page 130:

I realized I'd been so caught up in my new vampirehood that I hadn't noticed Christmas had come and gone.

2006, Jennifer Armintrout, Blood Ties Book One: The Turning, MIRA, →ISBN, page 224:

The state of being a vampire; vampiredom.


pishtaco

From a Quechua language term meaning "cut the throat of, cut up".

They are often told that the pishtaco is going to carry them off if they do not behave. Thus, they are taught to fear the mestizo and white man at an early age. The pishtaco also maintains conformity among adults. Individualism is not a norm ...

However, the pishtaco is not an Andean Minotaur. It is, rather, an indigenous Andean folk symbol of Spanish, and later criollo, colonialist oppression. Pishtacos are represented as white foreigners, ...

1997, Milos Kokotovic, Confronting Postmodernism:

For this part of the operation, the pishtaco is said to import specialized equipment from the United States, Germany, or Japan.

2005, Don Kulick, Anne Meneley, Fat, →ISBN:

This explains why the first pishtaco figures in the legend were priests and soldiers. As the power structure changed, so did the pishtaco figure. In later versions of the story he rode a horse and wore leather chaps like a rancher, ...

2008, Jennifer McLagan, Fat, →ISBN, page 217:

(mythology, folklore) A mythical white male demon in South American folklore, who steals and eats the bodyfat of indigenous South Americans, or cuts up their flesh to convert it into food.


dwarfette

Her outstanding feature was her nose, an enormous pyramid-shaped nose which reminded me of clowns, gargoyles, dwarfettes, cartoon gnomes.

2008, Michael Pastore, “The Grapes of Roth”, in The Zorba Anthology of Love Stories, page 266:

Yimt smiled up at him. "I'm happily married, remember? And even if I was unhappily married, dwarfettes take marital vows seriously. Did you know they don't wear a wedding ring? Chafes their finger when swinging an axe, which, as it happens, is the traditional marriage gift a mother gives her daughter."

2009, Chris Evans, The Light of Burning Shadows, page 153:

“I’m so sorry. Your Majesty,” he blubbers. “Please don’t put me in the stocks, I beg of you. I have three little dwarfettes at home and I was only trying to do my job!”

2011, Marianne Mancusi, Night School, page 193:


Shesha

(Hinduism) One of the primal beings of creation, a many-headed snake who holds all of the planets of the universe on his hoods and constantly sings the glories of Vishnu.


amphiptere

Ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀμφί (amphí, “amphi-”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”).

af

<i class="Latn mention" lang="en">amphi-</i>

Azure, an amphiptere or, rising between two mountains argent, are the arms of Camoens, the Portuguese poet.

1969, John Vinycomb, Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art, Library of Alexandria, →ISBN:

(heraldry, fantasy) A type of winged serpent, with two bat-like wings and typically with no other limbs.


Eleutheria

From Ancient Greek Ἐλευθερία (Eleuthería).

(Greek mythology) A personification of liberty, represented on certain ancient coins, and sometimes denoting the goddess Artemis.


Fiddler's Green

From 19th-century English maritime folklore.

1996, Edward L. Daily, We Remember: U.S. Cavalry Association, Turner Publishing Company, page 7,
Fiddler's Green is where a cavalryman meets his comrades who have gone before him, at an old canteen, surrounded by a broad meadow, dotted with trees and crossed by many streams. Here the cavalryman stops, unsaddles his horse, and joins his comrades for a visit with many stories, reminiscences, and camaraderie, before continuing his journey. Soldiers of no other service may stop at Fiddler's Green, they must continue to march.

(US, military) A stopping place for fallen cavalrymen on the path to the afterlife.


Buffyspeak

As one would say in Buffyspeak, soak in the irony for a moment.

2006, Jennifer Ouellette, The Physics of the Buffyverse, unnumbered page:

During "The Writing for Teens and Television" symposium, in an exchange about adolescent language, Whedon readily admits, as he has done in other interviews, that Buffyspeak was his creation and not intended to be mimetic.

2007, Dear Angela: Remember My So-Called Life, page 216:

The linguistic distinctiveness of Buffyspeak is not reproduced in the Italian version, where teenagers' speech style is, at most, characterized by an informality which does not have any particular connotation as 'youth language.'

2008, Diana Bianchi, “Taming teen-language: The adaptation of Buffyspeak into Italian”, in Delia Chiaro, Christine Heiss, Chiara Bucaria, editors, Between Text and Image: Updating Research in Screen Translation, page 187:

(fandom slang) The invented slang used by characters on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


Valetudo

(Roman mythology) Roman goddess of health and hygiene (equivalent to the Greek Hygieia), great-granddaughter of Jupiter.


satyral

From Old French satirel (“little satyr”); see satyr for more.

Two satyrals supported the arms of the lords Stawell.

1847, Henry Gough, A Glossary of Terms Used in British Heraldry: With a Chronological Table, Illustrative of Its Rise and Progress, page 339:

Behind the satyral, the foliage rustled, and to Jingo's mounting astonishment, a huge brown susquat rushed into the encampment and stood beside the satyral, growling and baring his teeth at the salax king. It was Hooks, and the ghastly[…]

2011 10, Robert Louis Smith, Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans, Medlock Publishing LLC, →ISBN:

(heraldry and fantasy) A creature with a human head and the limbs of different animals.


All-Father

From all + father. The sense used to refer to Odin was a calque of Old Norse Alfǫðr.

(Germanic paganism, Norse mythology) Odin.


Pangu

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 盤古／盘古 (Pángǔ).

zh-l

盤古／盘古 (Pángǔ)

(Chinese mythology) The first living being and creator of all in Chinese mythology.


Lob Lie-by-the-fire

(mythology) A hairy man in English folklore, similar to the brownie, said to perform housework in return for a saucer of milk and a place beside the fire.


amphisbaenic

en-adj

amphisbaenic (comparative more amphisbaenic, superlative most amphisbaenic)

more amphisbaenic (comparative)
most amphisbaenic (superlative)


Tlazolteotl

(mythology) An Aztec goddess of vice, filth etc. and of steam baths and purification.


Comus

(Greek mythology) The god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances, a son of Dionysus.


Ismene

Ismene and the Guard are the opposite of Antigone and Creon, yet for a full understanding of the human condition they are equally important.

2012, André Lardinois, “5: Antigone”, in Kirk Ormand, editor, A Companion to Sophocles, Wiley-Blackwell, page 65:

(Greek mythology) A daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles and Polynices.

(Greek mythology) A daughter of the river-god Asopus by the nymph Metope.


Sanamahism

A religion, philosophy and culture native to Manipur, characterized by the belief in reincarnation and a supreme oneness personified in many forms and natures.


wechuge

(mythology) a demonic cannibal spirit known in North America, which is said to commit murder due to craving humans.


Nimuë

(Arthurian legend) either as the Lady of the Lake, or the wizardess lover of Merlin (and sometimes rival to Morgaine)


Pelopid

(Greek mythology) Any of the descendants of Pelops.


Heracleidae

(Greek mythology) The descendants of Heracles.


Heraclidan

(Greek mythology) Of or relating to the Heraclids.


Hydaspes

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὑδάσπης (Hudáspēs), proposed to have been borrowed from Old Persian *Vidāspaʰ (literally “caring for horses”), from *vīd- (“to take care of”) + 𐎠𐎿𐎱 (a-s-p, “horse”) to explain the development -sp- instead of -st-, but this has no basis in any attested names for the river.

der

(Greek mythology) A god associated with the river.


Dellingr

Borrowed from Old Norse Dellingr, formally as if from Proto-Germanic *Dallingaz, perhaps "shining one", related to Old English deal (“proud, bright”) and possibly the second element of Old Norse Heimdallr and Mardǫll. Another proposed etymology is Proto-Germanic *Dagilingaz (“dayspring”), from *dagaz (“day”);

(Norse mythology) a figure in Norse mythology, the father of Dagr (the Day)


Rodnovery

A borrowing from Russian роднове́рие (rodnovérije) with the suffix -ery, derived from Russian род (rod, “tribe, origin”) + Russian ве́ра (véra, “faith”).

kolovrat

a swastika-like symbol used to worship the gods

volkhv

a Rodnover priest, usually a high priest; a sorcerer in Slavic folklore

zhrets

a Rodnover priest; a Slavic pagan priest


Heimdall

(Norse mythology) The Norse god who guards the rainbow bridge Bifrost, using his keen eyesight and hearing to watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarok.


werewolfy

en-adj

werewolfy (comparative more werewolfy, superlative most werewolfy)

more werewolfy (comparative)
most werewolfy (superlative)

(informal) Resembling or characteristic of a werewolf.


loong

Borrowed from Mandarin 龍 /龙 (lóng). This spelling is used to differentiate the word from long.

(uncommon, chiefly China) A Chinese dragon.


Achlys

(Greek mythology) An ancient Greek goddess of death-mist, misery and sadness.


Aion

From Ancient Greek Αἰών (Aiṓn, “Greek god or personification, Gnostic spirit”).

bor

(Greek mythology) A Hellenistic deity associated with time, the orb or circle encompassing the universe, and the zodiac.

Eon

Greek god associate with time, the universe and the zodiac


Phanes

(Greek mythology) The primordial god of creation in the Orphic cosmogony.


Ourea

The primordial gods of the mountains in Greek mythology


Ophion

(Greek mythology) A Titan-king of heaven, before being overthrown by Cronus and Rhea.


Oenone

Borrowed from Latin Oenōnē, from Ancient Greek Οἰνώνη (Oinṓnē).

They went to that fair villa by the sea; and pleasantly did many a morn pass in the large hall, on whose frescoed walls was painted the story of Œnone, she whom the Trojan prince left, only to return and die at her feet.

1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Forget Me Not 1833, Giulietta—A Tale of the Forteeenth Century:

(Greek mythology) The first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for Helen.


Eurystheus

Borrowing from Ancient Greek Εὐρυσθεύς (Eurustheús).

"But why hasn't Iolaus killed Eurystheus?," she asks. In a witticism very much akin to Electra's "But where are the messengers?," Euripides has Alcmene ask, essentially, why the plot she is part of has just swerved from its expected course: Iolaus is supposed to kill Eurystheus, by tradition.

1991, Transactions of the American Philological Association, Scholars Press, page 129:

Already we have seen from Iliad 19 and the birth of Eurystheus that at an early stage of the tradition Herakles was destined to be subordinate to his cousin.

1993, Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Volume 2, Johns Hopkins University Press, page 381:

There is a different kind of religious reference at 989-90, where Eurystheus claims that it was Hera who had afflicted him with the enmity towards Heracles.

2003, Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, Tragedy and Athenian Religion, Rowman & Littlefield (Lexington Books), page 323:

(Greek mythology) A Mycenaean king of Tiryns (or, according to some authors, of Argos), in Argolis, who imposed the twelve labours on Heracles.


mahoraga

Transliteration of Pali mahoraga or Sanskrit महोरग (mahoraga).

(Indian mythology) A type of serpentine deity in Indian mythology, most notably Buddhism and Jainism.


Phorcys

Sophocles calls them^([the sirens]) the daughters of Phorcys.

1836, Leigh Hunt, The Sirens and Mermaids of the Poets: The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, Part 2, page 273:

But what of Phorcys as father of Persephone?
Phorcys too has a role in Orphic genealogy, already known to Plato: he belongs to the Titan generation, together with Kronos and Rhea (Tim. 40e = Orph. fr. 24 Bernabé / 16 Kern).

2010, Noel Robertson, Religion and Reconciliation in Greek Cities: The Sacred Laws of Selinus and Cyrene, Oxford University Press, page 126:

Now, Phorcys, it is known, was a variation of Orcus, the equivalent of Hades in the Uranid pantheon. Phorcys belonged to the Atlantean group of deities or monsters, who was reputed to carry off men to the Inner world and keep them imprisoned there, which was possibly a folklore memory of subterranean temples for magic rites.

2016, Comyns Beaumont, Britain: The Key to World History, Resonance BookWorks, page 287:

(Greek mythology) A primordial sea god, son of Pontus and Gaia, who by Ceto fathered numerous monsters including Echidna and the gorgons.

But the Phrygians are ſometimes mentioned as ſeparate from the Trojans: in the catalogue of the Trojan allies they are led from the distant Aſcania by Phorcys and Aſcanius, whose names are not derived from Greek, and we learn that ſome of the Phrygians spoke a different language.

1798, John Bacon Sawrey Morritt, A Vindication of Homer and of the Ancient Poets and Historians Who Have Recorded the Ancient Siege of Troy, page 52:

(Greek mythology) Phorcys of Phrygia, a Phrygian ally of the King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War.

Forci

Phrygian ally of Priam in the Trojan War


leogryph

A mythical animal, part lion and part griffin.


tree nymph

(Greek mythology) In Greek myth, a female tree spirit; a dryad.


solar boat

(archaeology, Egyptology) A wooden burial boat intended to be used by a king to make celestial journeys in the afterlife.

(archaeology, Egyptology) The boat that, in myth, carries the sun on its journey across the sky; solar barque.


elf-shot

The malicious elves did not confine their attacks to human beings; references to elf-shot cattle are numerous.

1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals, page 16:

Frequently this practitioner would keep a stock of elf-shot from which one would be produced by sleight of hand from the ailing animal's flank as evidence that it had indeed been elf-shot.

(Anglo-Saxon and British mythology and folklore) Maliciously wounded or sickened as a result of having been shot by an elf.


therianthropy

/ˌθɛɹiˈænθɹəpi/

(mythology) Shapeshifting between human and animal forms.

Despite occasional YouTube videos which demonstrate the activities of a 'howl' (a wolf meet), the small amount of existing research into therianthropy as a cultural phenomenon demonstrates that the communities largely exist online and rarely venture into real space.

2017, Debra Benita Shaw, Posthuman Urbanism: Mapping Bodies in Contemporary City Space, page 142:

(otherkin subculture) The characteristic of being a therianthrope; therianism.


Aramazd

Transliteration of Old Armenian Արամազդ (Aramazd). Doublet of Ahura Mazda.

translit

(Armenian mythology) The chief and creator god in pre-Christian Armenian mythology, thought to be a syncretic deity, a combination of an autochthonous figure and the Iranian Ahura Mazda.


Libertas

Unadapted borrowing from Latin Lībertās. Doublet of liberty

(Roman mythology) the Roman goddess and personification of liberty; equivalent to the Greek goddess Eleutheria.


Venusberg

(mythology) A subterranean temple of Venus, in Teutonic myth.


Jovial

/ˈd͡ʒəʊ.vɪ.əl/

I know the ſhape of's Legge: this is his Hand: / His Foote Mercuriall: his martiall Thigh / The brawnes of Hercules: but his Iouiall face— / Murther in heaven?

1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], page 390, column 1:

It was pointed out in chapter 3 that [C. S.] Lewis liked to regard Jupiter as his personal presiding deity, but Mercury would have been almost as apt a choice, for Lewis had been extraordinarily favoured by that Intelligence whom, in ‘The Planets,’ he calls the ‘Lord of language’: both as a speaker and as a writer Lewis was uncommonly fluent. However, despite these talents, despite the fact that he saw Mercurial as well as Jovial strains in his paternity, and despite his opinion that Mercury shared with Jupiter a special need of rehabilitation, Lewis claimed no special relationship with the planet of the second sphere. In fact, he confesses that the Mercurial essence is almost beyond his grasp: […]

2008, Michael Ward, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

(Roman mythology, obsolete) Pertaining to the Roman god Jove or Jupiter (the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus), the god of the sky and thunder and the king of the gods; Jovian.


wiggins

Alteration of wiggings, from wig (“to be nervous or fearful”). First recorded use in 1997, in the first episode of the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Compare also wigging out.

We could meet someplace quieter. Louder. Uh, that place just kind of gives me the wiggins.

1997 March 10, “Welcome to the Hellmouth”, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar):

Living in Rush's world never failed to give me the wiggins, but this time I barely noticed.

2014, Ian Thomas Healy, Scott Bachmann, Frank Byrns, The Good Fight:

(slang) The creeps; a feeling of fear or anxiety.


Robin Goodfellow

(mythology) Puck (the mischievous sprite)


Hecatoncheires

/ˌhɛkətɒŋˈkaɪɹiːz/

From Ancient Greek ἑκᾰτόν (hekătón, “hundred”) + χείρ (kheír, “hand”), compare the adjective ἑκατόγχειρος (hekatónkheiros, “hundred-handed”). The putative *Ἑκατόγχειρες (*Hekatónkheires) is unattested in Hesiod's Theogony, which instead describes the giants with the phrase ἑκατὸν μὲν χεῖρες (hekatòn mèn kheîres).

lang

τῶν ἑκατὸν μὲν χεῖρες ἀπ’ ὤμων ἀίσσοντο, ἄπλαστοι, κεφαλαὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ πεντήκοντα ἐξ ὤμων ἐπέφυκον ἐπὶ στιβαροῖσι μέλεσσιν· ἰσχὺς δ’ ἄπλητος κρατερὴ μεγάλῳ ἐπὶ εἴδει.

The three Hecatoncheires were named Cottus, Briareus (or Aegaeon) and Gyges (or Gyes).

1840, George Cornewall Lewis (translator), John William Donaldson (translator, later chapters), Karl Otfried Müller, History of the Literature of Ancient Greece: To the Period of Isocrates, Robert Baldwin, page 92,
[…] nor is it until the poet has related how Zeus set free these Hecatoncheires, by the advice of the Earth, that we are introduced to the battle with the Titans, which has already been some time going on.

But then Zeus went down to Tartarus and released the Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters. The Cyclopes awarded Zeus their weapons of thunder and lightning, and the Hecatoncheires pelted the Titans with boulders.

1973, James Weigel, James L. Roberts, Mythology, CliffsNotes, page 50:

1993, Tim Parks (translator), Roberto Calasso, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, [1988, R. Calasso, Le nozze di Cadmo e Armonia], Random House (Vintage), page 202,
By this time many beings had spread out across space, both on high and below: the Titans, the Cyclopes, the Hecatoncheires.

(Greek mythology) Three monstrous giants of enormous size and strength, each with fifty heads and one hundred arms, who were offspring of Uranus by Gaia, whom Zeus freed from captivity and who in return aided the Olympians in the Titanomachy.


Centimanes

From Latin centimanus, a calque of Ancient Greek Ἑκατόγχειρες (Hekatónkheires, “the Hundred-Handed”) from centi- (“100”) + manus (“hand”).

der

Ἑκατόγχειρες

1882, The Chautauquan, Volume 3, Chautauqua Press, page 486,
The Titans with the Cyclops and Centimanes (hundred-handed), were giants and the first inhabitants of the earth. Strictly the hundred hands belong to the brothers of the Titans, the Centimanes.

Of the three Centimanes enumerated by Hesiod, Brisareus only is mentioned in Homer, and, to all appearance, not as the son of Uranos, but as the son of Poseidṑn; not as aiding Zeus in his combat with the Titans, but as rescuing him at a critical moment from a conspiracy formed against him by Hḕrḕ, Poseidṑn and Athḕnḕ.

1906, George Grote, A History of Greece, Volume 1, Dent, page 54:

1998, Robert Temple, The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago, 2nd Edition, Random House (Arrow), page 325,
‘"From their shoulders sprang a hundred invincible arms and above these powerful limbs rose fifty heads attached to their backs." For this reason they were called the Hecatoncheires or Centimanes,’ as we are reliably told.

(Roman mythology) Synonym of Hecatoncheires.


Mahakala

(Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism) A deity in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism, sometimes considered a manifestation of Shiva.


Kisshōten

(Japanese mythology, Shinto) The Japanese version of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi: goddess of happiness, charm and beauty, of fertility, nature, and of human creativity, and the patronesses of joy, amusement and festivities.


Wyrd

Learned borrowing from Old English Wyrd (“Fate”).

lbor

Both Wyrd (2574, 2526) and the Mighty Maker (979) measure out dooms, though God is said to control fate (1056).

1925, Caroline Harris Stevens, The Treatment of Death in Anglo-Saxon Poetry, page 18:

At last she spoke, “My name is Anawin. I am the valla. I am the keeper of secrets. I am the teller of truths. I speak for the Wyrd, the three goddesses of fate. I speak for past, for present, for future. What is it that you wish to know?”

2007, Holly Taylor, Crimson Fire: Book Two in the Dreamer's Cycle Series:

He recognises these women, and with dawning realization so do I. The Queen within, is the Wyrd, Goddess of chance, destiny and death.

2015, CJ Moseley, Chronoclysm: The Paradox War:

(mythology) An Old English deity, goddess of fate.


burnination

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

Burnination! O'Meara swore as I rolled up to my feet, pain pricking along my ribs where Feather's claws had found flesh.

A minced oath used to express anger, irritation, disappointment, annoyance, contempt, etc.


Logi

Learned borrowing from Old Norse Logi (“jötunn of fire”),
personification of logi (“flame, blaze”), from
From Proto-Germanic *lugô (“flame”). Related to Middle High German lohe, more distantly to Latin lucere (“to shine, to light”), Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “white”). All ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European *lewk-.
Compare Old Norse Hálogi.

(Norse mythology) also known as Hálogi he is the jötunn (giant of Norse mythology) of fire; he is the personification of fire in Norse mythology.


Iambe

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἰάμβη (Iámbē).

(Greek mythology) A Thracian woman, daughter of Pan and Echo, granddaughter of Hermes.


Okeanos

/əʊˈkeɪənɒs/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός (Ōkeanós). Doublet of Oceanus and ocean.

bor+

(Greek mythology) Synonym of Oceanus (“god and personification of the world ocean”)


sitiogonic

en-adj

sitiogonic (comparative more sitiogonic, superlative most sitiogonic)

more sitiogonic (comparative)
most sitiogonic (superlative)

From Greek σῖτος (sîtos, “food, grain”) + γόνος (gónos, “creation”).

2005, Robert Campany, The Meanings of Cuisines of Transcendence in Late Classical and Early Medieval China, Brill, Leiden, 2005:

[Bruce] Lincoln ... coins the term sitiogonic to mean 'explaining the origin of food'

1993, Anne Birrell, Chinese Mythology, Johns Hopkins, page 12:

(mythology) Concerned with the mythological motif of the origins of foods, food sources, or food-related aspects of human culture.


Epigoni

From Latin Epigonī, itself from Ancient Greek Ἐπίγονοι.

(Greek mythology) The legendary sons of the Argive heroes of the first Theban War, who as legend has it, were themselves prosecutors of the second Theban War.


Vejovis

From Latin Vējovis, a later spelling of Vēiovis, from Old Latin Vēdiovis, from vē + Diovis from Proto-Italic *djous, *djowes, from Proto-Indo-European *dyḗws.

(Roman mythology) an ancient Italic Roman deity of Etruscan origin considered to be an underworld counterpart of Jupiter; literally “Little Jupiter”, “Anti-Jove”


dullahan

From Irish dulachán, from dubh (“black”) + another word (compare lucharachán (“elf, dwarf”)), possibly originally a term for a dark or sullen person (compare the surname Dullahan) and only subsequently applied to the spirit.

The dullahans always came in a mist. But Devin wasn't afraid of dullahans. If he saw one, he would club it over the head. But then Devin remembered that dullahans didn't have heads. He grasped his stick a little tighter in his hand, […]

1990, Elona Malterre, The Last Wolf of Ireland, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 3:

“A dullahan,” both Phelan and Coriel whispered. Coriel looked her square in the eye, “You did remember the gold, right?” ML blushed, “No, I didn't. I was so scared I just started running.” “Then how did you escape?” “My pocket tore on a bush. […] “You're lucky you're not dead anyway. The dullahan could have stopped or spoken your name, or both.”

2008, Jessica Borchardt, A Fairy Yarn, →ISBN, page 53:

There is no way to bar the road against a dullahan. All locks and gates open on their own when it approaches. Dullahans do not appreciate being watched while on their errands, throwing a basin of blood on those who dare to do so […]

2014, Tony Locke, Mayo Folk Tales, The History Press, →ISBN:

But the values of a fairy manifested into physical form in this city—a dullahan.” Celty Sturluson was not a human being. Celty was a type of fairy known as a dullahan that appeared to those close to death, signaling their impending demise.

2015, Ryohgo Narita, Durarara, volume 1, Yen Press LLC, →ISBN:

Because she is a dullahan, her head is not connected to her body—it's held in place by her gear.

2017, Kugane Maruyama, Satoshi Oshio, Overlord, volume 4, Yen Press LLC, →ISBN:

(fantasy, Irish mythology) A black-clad (usually male) horserider in Irish folklore which carries its severed head like a lantern and may be repelled by gold; when it stops riding (or calls out someone's name), someone will die. (Also called the Gan Ceann, Irish for "[one] without a head".)


Seelie

From Scots sely, seelie (“holy, good”), from Middle English seely, from Old English sǣliġ, gesǣlig. Doublet of silly.

Okay, so that sounded like the Seelie hated the Unseelie and vice versa. But not quite. There was something more here. I puzzled over it several moments. Did it mean the Seelie couldn't actually touch the Unseelie, and vice versa? I read on.

2008, Karen Marie Moning, Faefever: Fever Series, Delacorte Press, →ISBN:

We like the Seelie court and the humans lived, loved and laughed. As the war between the Seelie and the Unseelie escalated and the Seelie gained the upper hand we Unseelie were forced to hide in the shadows and fear for our lives.

2015, Selena Thana, Sidhe Megalomania: Tuath Dé - Tome 4, K. George, →ISBN:

(fantasy, folklore) A benevolent or beneficially-inclined fairy.


Seelie

Seelie (comparative more Seelie, superlative most Seelie)

more Seelie (comparative)
most Seelie (superlative)

“Like Sleeping Beauty, you mean,” I said. Henry nodded. His handsome face was very worried, and I didn't know him long enough to read him that well. “They came and saw the garden, and it was very Seelie, my lord. More than that, none.”

2008, Laurell K. Hamilton, Swallowing Darkness: A Novel, Ballantine Books, →ISBN:

“Altruism is very Seelie.” “The sidhe were all Seelie once,” Shock said. “Either we resign ourselves to that part of our history or we go mad. I do not fight my impulses toward love and beauty the way my father does. But enough of that.”

2018, Mishell Baker, Impostor Syndrome, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

(fantasy, folklore) Of or pertaining to the Seelie; benevolent (as a fairy, etc).


Unseelie

Borrowed from Scots unseely (“mischievous, evil-doing”), from Middle English unsely, from Old English unsǣliġ. Doublet of unsilly.

bor+

(fantasy, folklore) A malevolent or malicious fairy.


Unseelie

en-adj

Unseelie (comparative more Unseelie, superlative most Unseelie)

more Unseelie (comparative)
most Unseelie (superlative)

Unseelie wights

“That is not very Unseelie, and most definitely not very sluagh.”
“I cannot always choose how the magic will come.”
“It is wild magic, and it chooses its own way like water finding a cleft in a rock,” he said.

“I am very Unseelie Tuatha Dé. Almost one hundred percent, in fact. Only a drop of Seelie to muddy the pool. Do you have a problem with that, Shining One?”

2010, Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, Jean Johnson, Lora Leigh, Linda Winstead Jones, Angela Knight, Anya Bast, Allyson James, Paranormal Holiday Anthology Trio, Penguin, →ISBN:

(fantasy, folklore) Of or pertaining to the unseelie; malevolent (as a fairy, etc).


fenghuang

(Chinese mythology, Japanese mythology) A phoenix found in Asian mythologies, which reigns over all other birds, often of female sex and frequently found paired with the Chinese dragon.


stoor worm

The first element may be stoor, stour (“large, stout”) (cognate to Old Norse stórr), or it may be from Old Norse Storðar-gandr (literally “world-monster”), an alternative name for Jörmungandr, from poetic use of storð to mean "earth", whence storðar men, "earth's necklace", i.e. "sea" (storð more often meant "wood" and storðar-gandr more often meant "wood's bane" i.e. "fire"). The second element is worm (“sea-dragon”).

But with regard to the Stoor Worms (which I have oftener heard called Sea Worms by the Norwegians), those who totally discredited the existence of the Kraakens told told me, they believed them really to exist: […]

1771, Philosophical Transactions, Giving Some Accompt of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in Many Considerable Parts of the World, page 41:

Madness, like a Stoor Worm, moved continuously under their feet, making every step they took full of terror. Phelim peered at each face, but could see no one who resembled his dimly remembered father. Besides, it was difficult: […]

2000, Geraldine McCaughrean, The Stones are Hatching, Oxford University Press, USA, →ISBN, page 181:

The Muckle Mester Stoor Worm was the father of all the terrible stoor worms that lived in the sea - huge sea monsters that destroyed ships and breathed poison over the land.

2003, Donald Omand, The Orkney Book, Birlinn Publishers:

Now, I don't suppose that you are familiar with the internal plumbing of a stoor worm, so I had better explain. There was a large tunnel that ran right through the stoor worm, but here and there were smaller tunnels running off the big one […]

2014, Tom Muir, Orkney Folk Tales, The History Press, →ISBN:

A giant sea serpent or sea dragon in Orcadian folklore, which had putrid breath, probably an Orkney version of Jörmungandr.


Tenes

(Greek mythology) The eponymous hero of the island of Tenedos.


Tennes

(Greek mythology) Alternative form of Tenes


Pandemic

From Ancient Greek Ἀφροδίτη Πάνδημος (Aphrodítē Pándēmos, “Aphrodite Pandemos”), from πάνδημος (pándēmos, “of or belonging to all the people, public”) + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives from nouns with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). See further at pandemic (etymology 1).

der

Ἀφροδίτη Πάνδημος

[page 64] The Love, therefore, which attends upon Venus Pandemos is, in truth, common to the vulgar, and presides over transient and fortuitous connexions, and is worshipped by the least excellent of mankind. The votaries of this deity seek the body rather than the soul, and the ignorant rather than the wise, disdaining all that is honourable and lovely, and considering how they shall best satisfy their sensual necessities. […] [page 67] That Pandemic lover who loves rather the body than the soul is worthless, nor can be constant and consistent, since he has placed his affections on that which has no stability.

a. 1822, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Banquet. Translated from Plato.”, in Richard Herne Shepherd, editor, The Prose Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley: From the Original Editions […] In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Chatto and Windus, […], published 1888, →OCLC, pages 64 and 67:

The same distinction between an Uranian and a Pandemic Venus runs, as all those who have any acquaintance with the sculptures of the Greeks know, through their whole art. […] The latter [the Capitoline Venus] is the true Pandemic Venus, the perfect type of voluptuousness, soulless, animal beauty,— […]

1840 January–June, “Shelley’s Translation of ‘The Banquet’ of Plato”, in The Monthly Chronicle; a National Journal of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art, volume V, London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], →OCLC, pages 316–317:

That was spoken of the celestial Aphrodite, whose symbol is the tortoise, the emblem of domestic modesty and chastity: not of that baser Pandemic one.

1852 January – 1853 April, Charles Kingsley, Jun., “She Stoops to Conquer”, in Hypatia: Or, New Foes with an Old Face. […], volume II, London: John W[illiam] Parker and Son, […], published 1853, →OCLC, page 109:

The meeting of Venus with Phoebe distinguishes her roles: the business of Venus in her pandemic form is to ensure the immortality of the kinds. Her Garden has the voluptuousness necessary to ensure this, and this is 'the first seminarie / Of all things that are borne to live and die / According to their kindes.' [Quoting from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene.]

1967, Frank Kermode, “World Without End or Beginning”, in The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction (The Mary Flexner Lectures on the Humanities; 1965), New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC; new edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2000, →ISBN, page 76:

For the complicated history of the Uranian and Pandemic Aphrodite of whom the Venus genetrix, the creative and vivifying force of nature, and Venus, the goddess of erotic passion, are Roman versions, see "Aphrodite" and "Venus" in Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, […]. [Allen] Tate sees the attempt to reconcile the claims of the Uranian and Pandemic Aphrodite as the lifelong concern of [John] Keats.

1969, Gerhard Joseph, “From Fatal Goddess to a God of Love”, in Tennysonian Love: The Strange Diagonal, Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press, →OCLC, footnote 8, page 141:

The Symposium [of Plato] presents strong and varied opinions on Aphrodite. Aristodemus reports Pausanias's speech on the Homeric and Hesiodic versions of the goddess's origins, and differentiates between the two loves and the two Aphrodites—the Pandemic one, daughter of Zeus, and the heavenly Uranic Aphrodite.

2015, Nora Clark, “Aphrodite and Venus: Myth Timeless and Temporal”, in Aphrodite and Venus in Myth and Mimesis, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, page 30:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Of Aphrodite Pandemos, the earthly aspect of the Greek goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite and her Roman counterpart Venus, as contrasted with the heavenly aspect known as Aphrodite Urania: earthly, physical, sensual.

Aphrodite Pandemos
Capitoline Museums
Capitoline Venus


Rona

(mythology) In Māori mythology, a legendary woman who cursed the moon.


Adlet

(cryptozoology, mythology) Alternative letter-case form of adlet (“half-human, half-dog cryptid”)


Wolfstar

From wolf + star: Remus Lupin is a werewolf; and Sirius Black is named after the dog star Sirius (Sirius Black is an animagus who turns into a dog).

Remus’ lycanthropy almost always features in Wolfstar fics precisely because it is his lycanthropy that brands his sexuality as disallowable.

2016, Jaquelin Elliott, “Becoming The Monster: Queer Monstrosity and the Reclamation of the Werewolf in Slash Fandom”, in Revenant, number 2, page 99:

The continued enthusiasm demonstrated here alludes to the power SBP has within HP fandom: as Emmie describes it, SBP is “the cornerstone of the Wolfstar fandom” (“Shoebox Project”).

2018, Kasandra Arthur, "We Are Having All Kinds of Fun: Fluidity in Shoebox Project", thesis submitted to the University of Waterloo, page 142

Silveredglass, a reader and writer who primarily ships Drarry and Remus Lupin/Sirius Black or 'Wolfstar', found Harry Potter fandom through Tumblr.

2018, Emily E. Roach, “Polyjuice and Potterheads: The Changing Face of Fandom from LiveJournal to Tumblr”, in Fan Phenomena: Harry Potter, unnumbered page:

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Remus Lupin and Sirius Black of the Harry Potter series.


Cytherea

From Ancient Greek Κυθέρεια (Kuthéreia), via Latin Cytherea.

The gloved and jewelled bards who sing / Of Pippa, Maud, and Guinevere, / Have hardly done the 'handsome thing' / For you, my inky Cytherea.

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

(Greek mythology) The goddess Aphrodite.


Twihater

Why can't "Twihaters" like Kim and me just look away from the catastrophe already and find something else to mock?

2009 December 23, JoSelle Vanderhooft, “Sparkly Vampires Are Funny”, in QSaltLake Magazine, page 20:

Bella has also been labeled a bad role model for young girls; she relies on male saviors, her love is obsessive, and she puts her life at risk for a guy, point out the Twihaters.

2010, Liv Spencer, Love Bites: The Unofficial Saga of Twilight, page 17:

Despite the intense rivalry between Twihards and Twihaters, the new parody pleases neither group.

2010, Cari MacPherson & Steve Rau, "'Vampires Suck' fails to bite", Technician (North Carolina State University), 20 August 2010, page 10

(fandom slang) A person who strongly dislikes Stephenie Meyer's Twilight book series or its film adaptations.


pukwudgie

[…] cliff-dwellers, the many-footed rock lovers finding foothold where you would hardly think the lichens even would survive. I never tramp these roads, which it sometimes seems as if the pukwudgies moved about in the night […]

1910, Winthrop Packard, Woodland Paths, page 84:

The Narrow Land was in chaos in those days, because the pukwudgies were always causing trouble and the good giant Maushop was often too lazy to help. Jean Fritz has drawn from old legends to write of the formation of Cape Cod and the ...

1982, Jean Fritz, The good giants and the bad pukwudgies, Putnam Pub Group

Draw and paint your own version of a pukwudgie.

1988, Sharron L. McElmeel, An Author a Month: For Pennies, Teacher Ideas Press:

And so the pukwudgies had the final laugh. They'd beaten the cruel giant, who ended up floating out to sea. The pukwudgies stood on a cliff and waved goodbye, then flew back into the forest.

1997, Clayton Emery, The Tale of the Campfire Vampires, Aladdin Paperbacks, →ISBN:

Yes, the internet is rife with tales of the little people, but that did me little good for finding out more about the Piedmont Pukwudgie or any pukwudgie specific to Alabama.

2018, Wil Elrick, Alabama Lore: The Choccolocco Monster, Huggin' Molly, the Lost Town of Cottonport and Other Mysterious Tales, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 71:

A creature in Algonquian (Lenape and Wampanoag) folklore, typically said to be a short humanoid with magical abilities; the creatures were once friendly to humans but have become malicious tricksters.


nightmarcher

From night + marcher. Calque of Hawaiian huakaʻi pō.

... happening in, will not become confused and angry in his efforts to get out. Beds should not be placed directly opposite doorways. One keeps indoors when the Nightmarchers are abroad. On certain nights these progressions of ghosts can […]

1988, John Donald Kingsley, The Antioch Review:

The tail of that sinuous line of nightmarchers seemed very horrible, and as I saw them wriggling into a venerable tomb they seemed more horrible still. Then I noticed that the tomb's floor had an aperture down which the throng was sliding, and ...

1997, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Crawling Chaos: Selected Pulp Fiction:

[…] understood the vision of nightmarchers described by the Chinese man. Sometimes the phantom marchers will be seen stopping at the house of a dying person, to prepare to escort them into the afterlife. In this case, the nightmarchers were […]

1999, Glen Grant, Obake Files: Ghostly Encounters in Supernatural Hawai'I, Mutual Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 122:

"And he hide; da buggah wen hide; if you discovered by a nightmarcher, they take you, boy. So, folks, always watch da road. Go where it's safe." The haole couple next to me nervously chuckled. An understated fright.

2002, Rona Tamiko Halualani, In the Name of Hawaiians: Native Identities and Cultural Politics, U of Minnesota Press, →ISBN, page 166:

Something from Irene's journals, about what to do if you happen across a nightmarcher on a moon-filled night.

2018, J. Lincoln Fenn, The Nightmarchers, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

In Hawaiian folklore, a ghost of an ancient Hawaiian warrior who marches together with other such ghosts on certain sacred nights from their burial sites or the ocean to the sites of ancient battles or sacred places.


kushtaka

From Tlingit kóoshdaakaa (“land-otter man”).

Written by a non-native scholar, this book contains nine Tlingit and Haida tales concerned with shamans and kushtakas. Land otters were fearful hybrid beings of the spirit world. Able to live on land and in water, they had the special mission of ...

Ordinarily they can't be seen at all, but sometimes kushtakas reveal themselves in elusive shadowy forms; sometimes they are only heard; sometimes the contaminated victim experiences their reality in the furriness of his own arms and legs ...

2003, Mary Giraudo Beck, Shamans and Kushtakas: North Coast Tales of the Supernatural, Graphic Arts Books, →ISBN:

If a body could not be recovered and cremated, a drowning victim might become a kushtaka, a half-man, half-otter changeling that occupies the realm between life and death.

2010, Lynn Schooler, Walking Home: A Traveler in the Alaskan Wilderness, a Journey into the Human Heart, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN, page 20:

I learned that kushtakas “saved” drowned people by transforming them into their own kind. Most of the stories told of drowning victims who used their newly acquired supernatural powers to help their living relatives. That seemed pretty benign.

2010, Mark A. Zeiger, Shy Ghosts Dancing: Dark Tales from Southeast Alaska, Yeldagalga Publications LLC, →ISBN, page 85:

A mythical part-otter, part-human shapeshifter, in Tlingit and Tsimshian folklore, sometimes represented as tricksters and at other times as helpful beings who save (and turn) drowning victims.