jovial

en-adj

jovial (comparative more jovial, superlative most jovial)

more jovial (comparative)
most jovial (superlative)
joviall (alternative)

/ˈd͡ʒəʊ.vɪ.əl/

Borrowed from French jovial (“jolly, jovial”), from Italian gioviale (“jolly, jovial; (obsolete) born under the influence of the planet Jupiter”), from Latin ioviālis (“relating to the Roman god Jupiter”), from Iuppiter, Iovis (“the Roman god Jove or Jupiter, counterpart of the Greek god Zeus”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“to be bright; heaven, sky”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); analysable as Jove + -ial.
Sense 1 (“cheerful and good-humoured”) refers to the fact that individuals born under the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter were believed to have that disposition.

der

This Planet [Jupiter] being a Fortune, and Friend unto nature, inclineth the native, upon this direction, not only unto healthfulneſs, but alſo to be jovial and merry, affable and pleaſant, and to delight in the company of religious men: […] [T]his direction importeth good from jovial perſons, and is an excellent time to have dealings with, or to receive any courteſie from, or benefit by them, […]

1682, Joseph Blagrave, “[The Effects of Directions.] The Ascendant to the Body of Jupiter.”, in Obadiah Blagrave, editor, Blagrave’s Introduction to Astrology. In Three Parts. […], London: Printed by E. Tyler, and R. Holt, for Obadiah Blagrave, […], →OCLC, part III, page 226:

As ☉ is near to a ⚹ of ♃, so did a jovial man endeavour to procure the purchase (after I began), but ♃ is cadent and in detriment, which shewed he should not prevail.

1852, William Lilly, Zadkiel [pseudonym; Richard James Morrison], “Of the Fourth House, and Judgments Depending thereon”, in An Introduction to Astrology […]: A Grammar of Astrology, and Tables for Calculating Nativities. […], London: H[enry] G[eorge] Bohn, […], →OCLC, page 145:

(not comparable, astrology, obsolete) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).


descend

en-verb

descend (third-person singular simple present descends, present participle descending, simple past and past participle descended)

descends (present singular third-person)
descending (participle present)
descended (participle past)
descended (past)
descend (infinitive)
descend (first-person present singular)
descended (first-person past singular)
descend (present second-person singular)
descendest (archaic present second-person singular)
descended (past second-person singular)
descendedst (archaic past second-person singular)
descends (present singular third-person)
descendeth (archaic present singular third-person)
descended (past singular third-person)
descend (plural present)
descended (past plural)
descend (present subjunctive)
descended (past subjunctive)
descend (imperative present)
descending (participle present)
descended (participle past)

PIE word
 *de
The verb is derived from Middle English descenden (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to go from a better to a worse condition, decline, degenerate; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”), from Anglo-Norman descendere, descendre, and Old French descendere, descendre (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”) (modern French descendre), and from their etymon Latin dēscendere, the present active infinitive of dēscendō (“to come or go down, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant; etc.”), from de- (prefix meaning ‘from; down from’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump”)).
The noun is derived from the verb.

laskea

to pass from a higher to a lower part of (something)

afgaan

to physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position

Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position.

(intransitive) To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink.

(astrology) Of a zodiac sign: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, of a planet: to move to a place where it has less astrological significance.

laskea

of a zodiac sign: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; of a planet: to move to a place where it has less astrological significance


martial

en-adj

martial (comparative more martial, superlative most martial)

more martial (comparative)
most martial (superlative)
Martial (alternative)
martiall (alternative)

From Middle English martial, marcial, mercial, mercialle (“relating to war, warlike; military; for use in fighting or warfare; brave, hardy; combative, fierce; ruthless, vicious; domineering, overbearing”), from Middle French martial (modern French martial (“martial”)), or directly from its etymon Latin mārtiālis (“of or pertaining to Mars, the Roman god of war”), from Mārtius (“of or pertaining to Mars”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). The English word is cognate with Italian marziale (“martial”), Portuguese marcial (“martial”), Spanish marcial (“martial”).

der

The Sun to the Quartile or Oppoſition of Mars. This Direction threatens the native with ſome martial Diſeaſe or Infirmity, as Fevers peſtilential, exceſs of Choler and Blood corrupted; it ſheweth danger by Fires, Wounds and Scalds, ill ſucceſs in Affairs, danger by Thieves and Robbers, ill having to do with martial Men, or to deal in martial Affairs; [...]

1682, Joseph Blagrave, “[The Effects of Directions.] The Sun Directed unto Promittors.”, in Obadiah Blagrave, editor, Blagrave’s Introduction to Astrology. In Three Parts. […], London: Printed by E. Tyler, and R. Holt, for Obadiah Blagrave, […], →OCLC, part III, page 251:

A martial man is many times full-faced, with a lively, high colour, like sun-burnt, or like raw tanned leather; a fierce countenance, his eyes being sparkling or sharp and darting, and of yellow colour; his hair, both of head and beard, being reddish (but herein you must vary according to the sign).

1852, William Lilly, Zadkiel [pseudonym; Richard James Morrison], “Another Brief Description of the Shapes and Forms of the Planets”, in An Introduction to Astrology […]: A Grammar of Astrology, and Tables for Calculating Nativities. […], London: H[enry] G[eorge] Bohn, […], →OCLC, page 55:

Venus was placed below Mars; that is, the sensual passion was subjected to martial ardour.

1875, J. A., “ASTROLOGY”, in The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, 9th edition, volume II, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, →OCLC, page 741, column 2:

(not comparable, astrology, obsolete) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mars.


martial

(astrology, obsolete) A celestial object under the astrological influence of the planet Mars.


lamia

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-lamia.wav

From Latin lamia, from Ancient Greek Λάμια (Lámia).

Apollonius […] by some probable conjectures, found her out to be a serpent, a lamia, and that all her furniture was like Tantalus' gold described by Homer, no substance, but mere illusions.

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

(Greek mythology) A monster preying upon human beings, who sucked the blood of children, often described as having the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent.


Ixion

From Latin Ixīōn, from Ancient Greek Ἰξίων (Ixíōn, literally “strong native”).

As to fitfulness, I have never learnt the art of binding myself to any of the wheels on which the Ixions of these days are turning round and round.

1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

The complicated conjunction and adverb “ut” also looms. Mr. Butterfield said that it is “the sort of infernal business that would make Sisyphus and Ixion smile kindly on the job satisfaction they got from their daily toil,” referring to figures from classical mythology forced to labor in pain for eternity.

2019 November 30, Annalisa Quinn, “Latin Dictionary’s Journey: A to Zythum in 125 Years (and Counting)”, in New York Times:

(Greek mythology) King of Lapiths, who was punished by Zeus for trying to seduce Hera by being bound to a winged fiery wheel that was always spinning.


quincunx

en-noun

quincunx (plural quincunxes or quincunces)

(astrology) An angle of five-twelfths of a circle, or 150°, between two objects.


Styx

A bold bad man, that dar'd to call by name / Great Gorgon, prince of darknes and dead night, / At which Cocytus quakes and Styx is put to flight.

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 13:

For two-and-twenty years he [Doctor Guillotin], unguillotined, shall hear nothing but guillotine, see nothing but guillotine; then dying, shall through long centuries wander, as it were, a disconsolate ghost, on the wrong side of Styx and Lethe; his name like to outlive Cæsar’s.

1837, Thomas Carlyle, chapter IV, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume I (The Bastille), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book IV (States-General):

Bornless one / As darkness bright / Found not in tongues / Found not in light / Bring down the rain / Drain waters of Styx / Faustian luminary / Redeem blaspheme / Like a day without the dawn / Like a ray void of the sun / Like a storm that brings no calm / I'm most complete yet so undone

2014, “O Father O Satan O Sun!”, performed by Behemoth:

(Greek mythology) The river, in Hades, over which the souls of the dead are ferried by Charon.


signifier

/ˈsɪɡnɪfaɪɚ/

/ˈsɪɡnɪfaɪə/

merkityksen antaja

something or someone that signifies, makes something more significant or important

Something or someone that signifies, makes something more significant or important.

(cartomancy) A card representing a querent, question, or situation.


Neptunian

From Latin Neptūnius (“of or pertaining to the Roman god Neptune”), from Neptūnus (“the Roman god Neptune”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nebʰ- (“to become damp, cloudy”)) + -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns); analysable as Neptune + -ian. The English word is cognate with French neptunien (“pertaining to the Roman god Neptune, pertaining to the sea, pertaining to Neptunism, Neptunian; proponent of Neptunism, Neptunist”), German Neptunier (“proponent of Neptunism, Neptunist”).

cog

Near-synonym: Poseidonian

The Tomb disburd'ning, whence the Ghoſt aroſe / Of great Achilles; Such when Thracian Foes / (The Prelude of thy Fates, Troy!) he o'rethrew, / And the white hair'd Neptunian Cycnus [i.e., Neptune's son] ſlew.

1679, Lucius Annaeus Seneca [i.e., Seneca the Younger], translated by Edward Sherburne, Troades: Or The Royal Captives. A Tragedy, Written Originally in Latin, […], London: Printed by Anne Godbid, and John Playford, for Samuel Carr, […], →OCLC, act II, scene i, page 21:

(Roman mythology) Of or pertaining to Neptune, the Roman god of fresh water and the sea, the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon.


Neptunian

From Neptune (“eighth planet in the solar system”) + -ian.

suffix

The Sun represents a masculine principle—assertion, expression and spirit. Neptune touching it brings in the qualities of sensitivity and creativity as well as weakness, dissolution, dissipation and elusiveness. If we take the Sun to represent the image of father, the person's experience of father (the Sun) will be coloured by Neptune. The father will receive the Neptunian projection and the child with this aspect will be sensitive to the father's Neptunian side.

1987, Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas, “Your Inborn Images”, in The Development of the Personality: Seminars in Psychological Astrology, volume 1, Boston, Mass.: Red Wheel/Weiser, →ISBN, part 1 (The Stages of Childhood), pages 11–12:

(astrology) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Neptune.


Neptunian

To a Neptunian the common satisfaction of life seems too banal, and he often seeks the hidden mysteries of life. The advanced soul however realises that life is a dream, and a divine dream at that.

1983, Shakuntala Devi, “Characteristics of the Planets”, in Astrology for You, New Delhi: Orient Paperbacks, published 2007, →ISBN, page 54:

Often the Neptunian cannot bring his or her fantasies to birth in form because the fantasy world remains a surrogate womb, static rather than flowing, a place of painless oblivion rather than a bridge between human and divine.

2000, Liz Greene, “Neptune and the Artist”, in The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption, 1st paperback edition, York Beach, Me.: Samuel Weiser, Inc., →ISBN, page 324:

(astrology) A person under the astrological influence of the planet Neptune.


mogwai

From Cantonese 魔怪 (mo1 gwaai3), 魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2).

(Chinese mythology) A kind of demon held to be harmful to humans.


astrometeorology

(astrology) The practice of using astrology for weather forecasting.


Jovian

en-adj

Jovian (comparative more Jovian, superlative most Jovian)

more Jovian (comparative)
most Jovian (superlative)

From Latin Iovis, genitive of Iuppiter, analysable as Jove + -ian.

Near-synonym: Zeusian

He did not admit of equals. But as a patron he was superb. With his Jovian air, his colossal condescension, his amused smile, his general suggestion of the god descending to the mortal, he could be quite overpowering in his amiability.

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

(Roman mythology) Pertaining to the Roman god Jove or Jupiter (the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus); Jove-like; befitting Jupiter.


fey

en-noun

fey (countable and uncountable, plural fey or feys)

From Middle English faie, fei (“a place or person possessed with magical properties”), from Middle French feie, fee (“fairy", "fae”). More at fairy.


ARV

alien reproduction vehicle
alien reproduction vehicle#English

(ufology) Initialism of alien reproduction vehicle.


mutable

en-adj

mutable (comparative more mutable, superlative most mutable)

more mutable (comparative)
most mutable (superlative)

From Middle English mutable, from Old French mutable, from Latin mutabilis (“liable to change”). By surface analysis, muta- + -able.

(astrology) Being one of the signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, associated with adaptability, flexibility and sympathy.


Asgard

Learned borrowing from Old Norse Ásgarðr.

lbor

The gods built themselves castles in Asgard, and halls that shone with gold. It is recorded that there were twelve such heavenly palaces, but the poems differ from each other in describing them.

1884, M. W. Macdowall, Asgard and the gods, […] , page 48:

So, for instance, when the giant Hrungnir became tediously drunk and boastful, it was Freyja who, of all the Æsir in Asgard, was bold enough to keep serving him drink, but equally it was she whom he threatened to take away with him.

2007, Heather O'Donoghue, From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 48:

(Norse mythology) The realm of the Æsir gods.


Álfheimr

(Norse mythology) home of the Ljósálfar (Light Elves) and one of the nine realms, also called Ljosalfheim.


Helen

en-proper noun

Helen (countable and uncountable, plural Helens)

→ Danish: Helen

→ Estonian: Helen

→ Hawaiian: Helena

→ Norwegian: Helen

→ Swedish: Helen

From French Hélène, from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Doublet of Elaine.

Evelyn De Morgan
Helen of Troy (painting)

Fools on both sides! Helen must needs be fair,
When with your blood you daily paint her thus.

c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

(Greek mythology) The daughter of Zeus and Leda, considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world; her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War.

Հեղինե

(Greek mythology) the daughter of Zeus and Leda


Ceres

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Learned borrowing from Latin Cerēs, goddess of the bounty, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to grow, to nourish”). More at create.

der

(Roman mythology) The Roman goddess of agriculture; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.


malefic

In the previous condition of overcoming, it was notable that while the malefics could only maltreat by overcoming through a superior sign-based square, the benefics could bonify by overcoming through a superior square or trine.

2017, Chris Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune, page 471:


Tailtiu

Tailte (alternative)
Tailltiu (alternative)
Talti (alternative)

(Irish mythology) A presumed goddess who was the survivor of the invasion of Tuatha Dé Danann and was the foster mother of Lugh.


Lugh

Borrowed from Irish Lugh, from Old Irish Lug, from Primitive Irish ᚂᚒᚌ (lug), from Proto-Celtic *Lugus.

(Irish mythology) A pre-Christian Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past: the son of Cian and Ethniu.

Samh-ildánach ()

Summer-multi-talented; skilled in many arts


Midir

Mider (alternative)
Midhir (alternative)

(Irish mythology) The son of the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann who fell in love with Étaín, receiving Aengus's help to make her his new bride.


Étaín

(Irish mythology) The lover of Midir whose rejected first wife Fuamnach became jealous and cast three spells on her, turning her into a pool of water, then into a worm, and then into a fly.


Fuamnach

(Irish mythology) Midir's rejected first wife, who became jealous of Midir's lover Étaín, casting three spells on Étain, turning her into a pool of water, then into a worm, and then into a fly.


Triton

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(Greek mythology) A god of the sea, son of Poseidon.


zodiacal

en-adj

zodiacal (comparative more zodiacal, superlative most zodiacal)

more zodiacal (comparative)
most zodiacal (superlative)

From Latin zōdiacus + -al. By surface analysis, zodiac + -al.

[…] in some passages of the Old Testament they think they discover the Zodiacal course of the Sun […]

1683, Thomas Browne, “Observations upon Several Plants Mention’d in Scripture”, in Certain Miscellany Tracts, London: Charles Mearn, page 3:

For several evenings the pale twinkling of the somber zodiacal stars lighted up the west side of the heavens for some time after the sun had set.

1912, Henryk Sienkiewicz, chapter 14, in Mary Webb Artois, transl., Through the Desert, New York: Benziger Brothers:

She knew by heart everyone’s Zodiacal sign.

1959, Muriel Spark, chapter 2, in Memento Mori, New York: New Directions, published 2000:

In the zodiacal procession of the poles, the 25,920-year cycle, Lascaux is the time of Virgo, and Virgo is associated with artistic excellence and discrimination.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 130:

(astronomy, astrology) Of or pertaining to the zodiac.


Uranian

Uranian (comparative more Uranian, superlative most Uranian)

more Uranian (comparative)
most Uranian (superlative)
Ouranian (alternative)
ouranian (alternative)
uranian (alternative)

Aphrodite Pandemos
Aphrodite Urania
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs
Louvre
Plato

From Latin Ūrania (“muse of astronomy in Greek mythology”) + -an (suffix forming agent nouns). Ūrania is derived from Ancient Greek Οὐρᾰνῐ́ᾱ (Ourănĭ́ā, “muse of astronomy”), from οὐράνιος (ouránios, “of or relating to the sky, celestial, heavenly”) (from οὐρανός (ouranós, “the sky; heaven, home of the gods; the universe”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wers- (“rain”)) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘pertaining to’).
The alternative form Ouranian is derived from Ancient Greek οὐράνιος (ouránios).
Adjective sense 2 (“homosexual”) and the noun sense (“a homosexual”) refer to Plato’s work Symposium (c. 385–370 B.C.E.), where the goddess Aphrodite, in her heavenly aspect Aphrodite Urania (see adjective sense 3) is described as inspiring a noble form of affection between older and younger men. Compare German Urning (“a homosexual, Uranian”), Urnigtum (“homosexuality”), also referring to Aphrodite Urania, coined by the German writer Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825–1895) in 1864. By the 1900s, the use of the word in this sense had largely been supplanted by homosexual (see further at that entry). The term is no longer mainstream and is almost never used in modern contexts, though it has enjoyed a slight revival as a term for "gay man" as an analogue to lesbian.

der

/jʊˈɹeɪnɪən/

For assuredly are there two Venuses; one, the eldest, the daughter of Uranus, born without a mother, whom we call the Uranian; the other younger, the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, whom we call the Pandemian;—of necessity must there also be two Loves, the Uranian and Pandemian companions of these goddesses. [...] [T]he attendant on the other, the Uranian, whose nature is entirely masculine, is the Love who inspires us with affection, and exempts us from all wantonness and libertinism.

a. 1822, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Banquet. Translated from Plato.”, in Mrs. Shelley [i.e., Mary Shelley], editor, Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments, … In Two Volumes, volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard, published 1840, →OCLC, page 86:

That this is indeed the general tendency of his [Pausanias of Athens'] speech is made clear by two remarks that follow immediately upon his differentiating the Pandemian from the Uranian gods. [...] But what is true for Aphrodite seems to be a contradiction in terms: she is both one and two and all gods must be praised—both Uranian and Pandemian—and yet only the Uranian ought to be praised [...].

2010, Steven Berg, “Pausanias: Noble Lies and the Fulfillment of Greekness”, in Eros and the Intoxications of Enlightenment: On Plato’s Symposium (SUNY Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy), Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, →ISBN, part 1 (Athens and Enlightenment), page 27:

(not comparable, Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Of Aphrodite Urania, the heavenly aspect of the Greek goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite and her Roman counterpart Venus, as contrasted with the earthly aspect known as Aphrodite Pandemos: heavenly, spiritual.

Graced by nurses (art's nurse highly grac'd him) / Who fed him with pure marrow of the Muses; / And when he list, with moisture to refresh him, / He drunke cleare Helicon: cleare from abuses, / He bent his mind to pure Vranian vses, / Vranianie him did to heau'n vpreare: / And made to man, him demi-god appeare.

1600, Cyril Tourneur, The Transformed Metamorphosis, [London]: Printed by Valentine Sims, […], →OCLC; republished in John Churton Collins, editor, The Plays and Poems of Cyril Tourneur: […] In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Chatto and Windus, […], 1878, →OCLC, page 213:

Actually, this little girl-child should have been as happy as a lark. But, she wasn't. This is because her Bengali genes had her continually wish to be a Sarasvati, or Uranian Muse, to all the males who came within her ambit – incessantly inspiring them to great works of Art or Scientific discoveries.

2007, Vivek Iyer, chapter 8, in Samlee’s Daughter: A Novel, Great Britain: Polyglot Publications, →ISBN, section I:

(not comparable, Greek mythology, dated) Relating to Urania, the Muse of astronomy.


Gordian knot

/ˈɡɔːdɪən ˈnɒt/

/ˈɡoʊɹdɪən ˈnɑt/

From the name of a legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium. It was prophesied that whoever loosed the knot would become ruler of all Asia. Alexander the Great solved the puzzle by slicing through the knot and took it as a sign of Zeus' favor. He then proceeded to conquer much of the known world.

(Greek mythology) The legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium.


Eochaid Feidlech

(Irish mythology) The High King of Ireland in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, who deposed the former High King Fachtna Fáthach at the battle of Battle of Leitir Ruadh.


Fachtna Fáthach

(Irish mythology) The High King of Ireland in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology who was deposed by Eochaid Feidlech at the Battle of Leitir Ruadh.


Fráech

From Middle Irish Fráech, from Old Irish Fróech, from fróech (“heather”), from Proto-Celtic *wroikos.

(Irish mythology) The Connacht hero in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology who wooed Findabair and Treblann, but was drowned in a river in a duel with Cúchulainn.


Nera

(Irish mythology) A warrior of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.


Trojan horse

the Trojan horse (canonical)
Trojan Horse (alternative)

(Greek mythology) The hollow wooden horse by which the Greeks allegedly gained access to Troy during the Trojan War.


cockatrice

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-cockatrice.wav

First attested 1382 as Middle English cocatrice (“basilisk”), from Old French cocatriz, from Late Latin calcātrīx (“she who treads upon something”), from Latin calcō (“tread”), from calx (“heel, hoof”).

“Peace reigns in happy Luxor. The lion lies down with the lamb, and the child, if it will, may harmlessly put its hand into the cockatrice’s den.”

c. 1910, Joseph Walker McSpadden, The Spell of Egypt:

(mythology) A legendary creature about the size and shape of a dragon or wyvern, but in appearance resembling a giant rooster, with some lizard-like characteristics.


Amata

From Latin amāta (“loved, beloved”); feminine perfect passive participle of amāre (“love”). It can also be interpreted as the feminine form of the saint's name Amātus.

(Roman mythology) The wife of Latinus and the mother of Lavinia.


drow

en-noun

drow (countable and uncountable, plural drow)

A Shetlandic and Orcadian alteration of trow, most likely influenced by an unattested Norn *drog (“malevolent [undead] being”). Trow is derived from Norn troll, or otherwise from Old Norse trǫll. L-vocalisation occurred in the early 15th century in Middle Scots, so "trolly knolls" probably became *trowie knowes around this time. The supposed Norn *drog would have been derived from Old Norse draugr.

der

(rare, mythology, countable) A trow; a member of a race of folkloric beings from Orkney and Shetland; cognate to the Scandinavian troll.


god-king

devaraja

Southeast Asian, Hindu-Buddhist divine monarch

(mythology, literally) A king who is of divine descent.


shape-shifter

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-shape-shifter.wav

(fantasy, mythology, science fiction) Alternative form of shapeshifter.


sea horse

sea horses (plural)
seahorse (alternative)
sea-horse (alternative)

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

From Middle English sehors (“walrus”), equivalent to sea + horse. Probably a calque of obsolete French cheval de mer or directly of Late Latin caballus marinus.

Instead, it seems to be a unique case that ends in the tail of a hippocamp or seahorse, although with one fin now missing. Ultimately, the form might have been inspired by bent-leg vases produced in Greece.

2013, Richard Daniel De Puma, Etruscan Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, page 107:


elemental

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From Middle English elementall, from Medieval Latin elementālis; compare Old French elementel. By surface analysis, element + -al.

Incidentally, such beings may be said to have an existence of a sort upon the lower astral plane; they are elementals created by man's evil desires and unclean thoughts.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 115:

(mysticism, fantasy) A creature (usually a spirit) that is attuned with, or composed of, one of the classical elements: air, earth, fire and water or variations of them like ice, lightning, etc. They sometimes have unique proper names and sometimes are referred to as Air, Earth, Fire, or Water.


apotropaic

en-adj

apotropaic (comparative more apotropaic, superlative most apotropaic)

more apotropaic (comparative)
most apotropaic (superlative)

/ˌæpətɹəˈpeɪ.ɪk/

From Ancient Greek ἀποτρόπαιος (apotrópaios), from ἀπό (apó, “away”) and τρόπος (trópos, “turn”); thus meaning “causing things to turn away”, as in “turns away evil”.

Wormwood [...] was associated with the rites of St. John's Eve, when a crown of the plant was made from its sprays for apotropaic purposes, to ward of malefic spirits.

1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 1:

A boring subtext, about the wisdom or otherwise of actually uttering Voldemort's name, meanwhile robs the apotropaic device of its force.

2007 August 12, Christopher Hitchens, “Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived”, in New York Times:

In earlier generations scholars reacted by removing many of these objects from public view, putting them in the ‘Secret Cabinet’ of the museum at Naples or otherwise under wraps. […] More recently the fashion has been to deflect attention from their sexuality by referring to them as ‘magical’, ‘apotropaic’ or ‘averters of the evil eye’.

2010, Mary Beard, chapter 7, in Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town:

Commonly known as ‘ritual protection marks’, or even ‘witch marks’, an apotropaic image or symbol is a marking that is thought to create a ‘protection’ for the individual that created it – or for the area or object into which it was inscribed.

2015, Matthew Champion, Medieval Graffiti: The Lost Voices of England’s Churches, London: Ebury Press, →ISBN, page 25:

(religion, mysticism) Intended to ward off evil.


tortuous

tortuous (comparative more tortuous, superlative most tortuous)

more tortuous (comparative)
most tortuous (superlative)

/ˈtɔːt͡ʃuːəs/

/ˈtɔɹt͡ʃuəs/

From Middle English tortuous, tortuose, from Anglo-Norman and Old French tortuos, from Latin tortuōsus, from tortus (“a twisting, winding”).

Infortunate ascendent tortuous.

1872, Walter William Skeat, Chaucer's A Treatise on the Astrolabe:

(astrology) Oblique; applied to the six signs of the zodiac (from Capricorn to Gemini) that ascend most rapidly and obliquely.


ichor

en-noun

ichor (countable and uncountable, plural ichors)

Sense 1 (“liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods”) is borrowed from Medieval Latin ichor, from Ancient Greek ῑ̓χώρ (īkhṓr, “fluid running through the veins of gods, ichor; watery part of blood, lymph, serum; watery part of milk, whey; gravy; pus; naphtha”); further etymology unknown, probably from Pre-Greek.
Sense 2.4 (“fetid, watery discharge from a sore”) is from Middle English icor, icore [and other forms], from Medieval Latin ichor; see further above.

der

This ſaid, ſhe wip’d from Venus’ wounded Palm / The ſacred Ichor, and infus’d the Balm.

1716, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, “Book V”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume II, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 40, lines 505–506:

With his protruded ſpear her gentle hand / He wounded, piercing through her thin attire / Ambroſial, by themſelves the Graces wrought, / Her inſide wriſt, faſt by her roſy palm. / Blood follow'd, but immortal; ichor pure, / Such as the bleſt inhabitants of heav'n / May bleed, nectareous; […]

1791, Homer, “[The Iliad.] Book V.”, in W[illiam] Cowper, transl., The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 121, lines 387–393:

He [Saint Peter] potter'd with his keys at a great rate, / And sweated through his apostolic skin: / Of course his perspiration was but ichor, / Or some such other spiritual liquor.

1822 October 15, Quevedo Redivivus [pseudonym; Lord Byron], “The Vision of Judgment”, in The Liberal. Verse and Prose from the South, 2nd edition, volume I, number I, London: […] John Hunt, […], published 1823, →OCLC, stanza XXV, page 11:

(Greek mythology) The liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods.


Fenian Cycle

(Irish mythology) A body of prose and verse focusing on the exploits of the mythological hero Fionn mac Cumhail and his warriors the Fianna Éireann.

cicle fenià

a body of prose and verse focusing on the exploits of the mythological hero Fionn mac Cumhail and his warriors


Fianna Éireann

Meaning "Soldiery of Ireland", named after the mythological Fianna


Graces

From Latin Gratiae, from gratia (“grace”), from Ancient Greek χᾰ́ρῐς (khắrĭs, “grace, charity”).

<i class="Latn mention" lang="en">grace</i>, charity

(Greek mythology) Three sister goddesses in Greek mythology (Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia), in whom beauty was deified.


monomyth

From mono- + myth. Borrowed by Joseph Campbell from Finnegans Wake.

Most male epics follow Joseph Campbell's monomyth pretty neatly; can we expect Barrett Browning to do the same? Is the monomyth a male construct, the “male-myth” rather than the unified myth that speaks for all, […]

2008, E. L. Risden, Heroes, Gods and the Role of Epiphany in English Epic Poetry, McFarland, →ISBN, page 143:

(mythology) A cyclical journey or quest undertaken by a mythical hero.

Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces


apotropaism

(religion, mysticism) The use of ritual or other magical means (including charms and/or incantations) to avert evil or bad luck.

apotropaïsme

the use of ritual or other magical means to avert evil or bad luck


naiad

From Latin Nāïas, from Ancient Greek Νᾱϊάς (Nāïás, “naiad”), from νάω (náō, “to flow”).

(Greek mythology) A female deity (nymph) associated with water, especially a spring, stream, or other fresh water.


simurgh

simurghs (plural)
seemurgh (alternative)
simorg (alternative)
simorgh (alternative)
simurg (alternative)
Senmurv (alternative Middle Persian)
Senmurw (alternative Middle Persian)

(Iranian mythology) A gigantic winged benevolent creature.


Nordic

From French nordique, from nord (“north”).

Called “Nordics,” the aliens are human-like in appearance, of average height, and often have long, flowing hair. Contactees are typically struck by the beauty of the Nordics, as was Howard Menger (1959): “She seemed to radiate and glow,” Menger explains,

2007, Erich Goode, D. Angus Vail, Extreme Deviance, Pine Forge Press, page 41:

But the third most common alien is called a Nordic, or humanoid.

2012, Kelly Milner Halls, Alien Investigation: Searching for the Truth about UFOs and Aliens, Millbrook Press, page 45:

Known as Nordics, these extraterrestrials are said to have blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin and are anywhere from 6 to 8 feet (183cm to 244cm) tall.

2012, Patricia D. Netzley, Extraterrestrial Life: Alien Encounters, Reference Point Press, page 33

(ufology, science fiction) A race of extraterrestrials similar in appearance to Nordic humans.


ETV

en-noun

ETV (countable and uncountable, plural ETVs)

(ufology, countable) Initialism of extraterrestrial vehicle.


Phoebus

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From Middle English Phebus, from Latin Phoebus, from Ancient Greek Φοῖβος (Phoîbos).

Mor. Miſlike me not for my complexion,
The ſhadowed liuerie of the burniſht ſunne,
To whom I am a neighbour, and neere bred.
Bring me the faireſt creature North-ward borne,
Where Phœbus fire ſcarce thawes the yſicles,
And let vs make inciſion for your loue,
To proue whoſe blood is reddeſt, his or mine.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 167:

(Greek mythology) An epithet and synonym for Helios; Phoebus Helios, after his maternal aunt, Phoebe.

By Phœbus, here's a moſt neate fine ſtreete; is't not? I proteſt to thee, I am enamord of this ſtreete now, more then of halfe the ſtreetes of Rome, againe; tis ſo polite, and terſe; […]

1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act III:

The heaven doth not contain so many stars,
So many leaves not prostrate lie in woods,
When autumn’s old and Boreas sounds his wars,
So many waves have not the ocean floods,
As my rent mind hath torments all the night,

17th century, William Drummond, Sextain I, in English Poetry, published 1907, page 162

And heart spends sighs, when Phœbus brings the light.

For she recalled the edict which decreed
If in one day she did not take or kill
The challenger (to this King Charles agreed),
She was his captive and must do his will.
Phoebus was soon to plunge his golden head
Into the western sea when of her skill
And strength the Maid at last began doubt,
While her fatigue was putting hope to rout.[…]

1991 August 29, Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso: Part Two (Orlando Furioso), Penguin UK, →ISBN, →OCLC:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) An epithet and synonym for Apollo; Phoebus Apollo.


kobold

kobold (plural kobolds or (rare) kobolde)

kobolds (plural)
kobolde (plural rare)
cobold (alternative)

Borrowed from German Kobold. Doublet of cobalt.

1904, Andrew Lang (collector), author and translator not identified, The Mermaid and the Boy, The Brown Fairy Book, page 176,
At this point a cock crew, and the youth jumped up hastily saying : 'Of course I shall ride with the king to the war, and if I do not return, take your violin every evening to the seashore and play on it, so that the very sea-kobolds who live at the bottom of the ocean may hear it and come to you.'

Movers, in the first chapter of his Phönizier, says that that group of deities called Dactyls, Cabiri, Corybantes, and Cyclopes, were similar to those old Germanic divinities now known as Kobolds.

2009, Robert Grant Haliburton, The Dwarfs of Mount Atlas: Collected Papers on the Curious Anthropology of Robert Grant Haliburton, page 75:

(German mythology) An ambivalent, sometimes vindictive, spirit that is capable of materialising as an object or human, often a child; a sprite.


gorgon

From Middle English gorgon, from Latin Gorgō, from Ancient Greek Γοργώ (Gorgṓ), from γοργός (gorgós, “terrible”). Possibly from the same root as the Sanskrit word "garğ" (गर्जन), which is defined as a guttural sound, similar to the growling of a beast, thus possibly originating as an onomatopoeia.

(Greek mythology) A vicious female monster from Greek mythology with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. One of the three sisters: Medusa, Stheno and Euryale


Nidhogg

Learned borrowing from Old Norse Níðhǫggr (“Malice Striker”)

lbor

(Norse mythology) a dragon who lives in Niflheim (world of ice and the dead), feeding upon the roots of Yggdrasil and bodies of the damned.


nectar

en-noun

nectar (countable and uncountable, plural nectars)

From Latin nectar, from Ancient Greek νέκταρ (néktar, “nourishment of the gods”), from Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- (“perish, disappear”) + *-tr̥h₂ (“overcoming”), from *terh₂- (“to overcome, pass through, cross over”).

der

They pourd in soveraine balme and Nectar good, / Good both for erthly med'cine and for hevenly food.

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

(chiefly mythology) The drink of the gods.


modality

en-noun

modality (countable and uncountable, plural modalities)

(astrology) That whether a zodiac sign is cardinal, fixed or mutable


genii

On the 11th Century glass bowl above, the painted figures—winged genii, nude athletes and brawny soldiers—resemble mythological characters but may be only lighthearted mimicry of ancient Greek or Roman subjects.

1980, Colin Thubron, Seafarers: The Venetians, page 40:

plural of genius
(Roman mythology) Guardian spirits.


golden age

/ˈɡəʊl.dən eɪd͡ʒ/


peregrine

en-adj

peregrine (comparative more peregrine, superlative most peregrine)

more peregrine (comparative)
most peregrine (superlative)

From Middle English peregrin, borrowed from Old French peregrin, from Latin peregrīnus (“foreign”). Doublet of pilgrim.

(astrology, of a planet) Lacking essential debility.


Apophis

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From Ancient Greek Ἄποφις (Ápophis), a borrowing from Egyptian ꜥꜣpp altered after ὄφις (óphis, “snake”).

(Egyptian mythology) An evil snake-god who tries to devour the sun every night.

أبوفيس

an evil snake-god who tries to devour the sun every night


ekstasis

en-noun

ekstasis (countable and uncountable, plural ekstases)

ekstases (plural)
ecstasis (alternative)

Ancient Greek ἔκστασις (ékstasis, “displacement, cession, trance”)

uder

[1914], 1995, Holden E Sampson, The True Mystic http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=Qqm7RQvTQ3sC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&sig=5lVGuxEcsuYip2s9t2xgSTWp4nc
In Psychics the strange phenomenon of “Katalepsis” experienced by developed “trance-mediumship” bears so close a resemblance, physically, to Ekstasis, that the two are often taken for one and the same thing.

In no wise is it possible for the State of Ekstasis to be attained by Mankind except as the prelude to Initiation in the Divine Mysteries. When the Initiations have been fully accomplished, to the Seventh Golden Gate, there is no further need for the Processes requisite to induce the State of Ekstasis.

1918, Holden Edward Sampson, Theou Sophia:

We find ourselves then in the presence of two human ekstases: the ekstasis which throws us into being-in-itself and the ekstasis which engages us in non-being.

1956, Hazel E. Barnes, Being and Nothingness, translation of original by Jean-Paul Sartre:

Conversely, expecting is, as we say, ecstatic. The ecstasy mentioned here, stepping out itself (ἔκστασις) is to some extent a raptus [rapture]. [...] And we therefore call these three basic phenomena the ecstases of temporality.

1984, Michael Heim, The Metaphysical Foundations of Logic, translation of original by Martin Heidegger:

This is a double but infinite responsibility, infinitely redoubled, split in two (dé-doublée), shared and parcelled out; an infinitely divided responsibility, dissemintated, if you will, for one person, for only one---all alone (this is the condition of responsibility)---and a bottomless double responsibility that implicitly describes an intertwining of temporal ekstases; a friendship to come of time with itself where we meet again the interlacing of the sameand the altogether other ('Grundlick-Anderes') which orientates us in this labyrinth.

1994, George Collins, The Politics of Friendship, Verso, translation of original by Jacques Derrida, published 2005, page 73:

2002, Angela Dalle Vacche, “Unexplored Connections in a New Territory,” in The Visual Turn, Angela Dalle Vacche ed. http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=mrxLuyQ1GjYC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&sig=LX0CsBvZonTHzR-w7F2suuDhwck
Eisenstein’s discussion of Serov’s portrait associates ekstasis with an “expulsion of meaning.” By contrast, the filmmaker’s handling of Vasily Surikov’s large canvas, La Bojara Morozova (1887), is an example of ekstasis as expressive conversion from the visual to the acoustic.

(mysticism, philosophy) The state of being beside oneself or rapt out of oneself.


Fimbulwinter

(Norse mythology) One of the signs of the onset of the end of this world, the final, three-year-long winter (with no intervening summers); it marks the coming of the Ragnarok, the battle that will end the world.

fimbulvinter

in Norse mythology, the long winter signifying the coming of Ragnarok


Pleiad

(Greek mythology) Any one of the Pleiades.


oread

From Latin Orēas, Orēadis, from Ancient Greek Ὀρειάς (Oreiás), from ὄρος (óros, “mountain”).

The imprisoned ringlets are emancipated; 'fresh as the oread from the forest fountain,' you descend—you breathe the incense of the chocolate—not more I hope—and grow conversational and confidential over the green tea, which, with a fragrance beyond all the violets of April, rises to your lip, 'giving and taking odours.'

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 92:

(Greek mythology) A mountain nymph; an anthropomorphic appearance of the spirit of a mountain.


close encounter

en-noun

close encounter (plural close encounters)

(ufology) A supposed observation, or observation of evidence, of extraterrestrial beings or their craft.

contato imediato

observation of extraterrestrials or their craft


Sisyphus

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Indeed, I have looked upon the fable of Sisyphus as an allegory, and that his wife was the stone which so perpetually rolled back upon his hands, effectually retarding his weary progress up-hill.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A Proposal of Marriage”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 132:

(Greek mythology) Son of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Ephyra, as tragic figure doomed eternally to roll a boulder up a hill in Tartarus, a part of Hades.


mythopoetic

en-adj

mythopoetic (comparative more mythopoetic, superlative most mythopoetic)

more mythopoetic (comparative)
most mythopoetic (superlative)

(mythology) Given the quality of a myth or a poem, used typically in opposition to a purely factual account.


Apple Isle

From apple + isle.
* (Avalon): Translation of Latin Insula Pomorum (“Island of Apples”), Geoffrey of Monmouth's alternative name for Insula Avallonis.
* (Tasmania): A reference to Tasmania's former status as an important apple grower and exporter. Possibly influenced by a supposed resemblance of the map of Tasmania to the shape of an apple.

uder

The journey involved a quest for the mysterious Avalon, the Apple Isle — home of immortality and hidden wisdom.

2002, Sheena Morgan, The Real Halloween: Ritual and Magic for the New Millennium, page 67:

He is equally at home over and under the waves, bringing some chosen ones, like Connla and Bran and the great King Cormac, to visit him in the Apple Isle, the Land of Promise.

2004, Eithne Massey, Legendary Ireland: A Journey through Celtic Places and Myths, page 139:

How can we, who have heard the Voice of the Lady of the Apple Isle, fulfill this calling?

2010, Jhenah Telyndru, Avalon Within: A Sacred Journey of Myth, Mystery, and Inner Wisdom, page 5:


nebris

From Latin nebris, from Ancient Greek νεβρίς (nebrís), earlier νεβρός (nebrós, “fawn”).

(Greek mythology) The skin of a fawn, as worn by Dionysus, and as worn in his honor by his male followers and female followers (maenads) and other votaries in Ancient Greece. It has also been shown as a panther or fox skin in different contexts.


Brigid

/ˈbɹɪ.d͡ʒɪd/

From Irish Brighid, from Old Irish Brigit, from Proto-Celtic *Brigantī (“high, exalted”).

der

The pagan Brigid was part of the Tuatha Dé Danann – a race of dieties who are said to have inhabited Ireland before the Milesians, from whom today’s Irish people are descended. Raised among druids, Brigid was the daughter of an enslaved woman and the Dagda, chief of the gods.

2024 February 5, Katy Hessel, “Move over Saint Patrick: why the world should be celebrating beer-brewing Brigid”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(Irish mythology) The goddess of the Sacred Flame of Kildare and the patron goddess of the Druids. Daughter of Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann.


Dagda

The Middle Irish name Dagda means “Good God” or “Shining God”, from Old Irish Dagdae, from Proto-Celtic *Dago-deiwos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰagʰo- (“shining”) (< *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”)) + *deywós (“divinity”).

Raised among druids, Brigid was the daughter of an enslaved woman and the Dagda, chief of the gods.

(Irish mythology) An important god in Irish mythology, portrayed as a father figure, king, and druid.


domicile

domiciles (plural)
domicil (alternative archaic)

Inherited from Middle English domicelle, domicylie, from Middle French domicile and directly from Latin domicilium.

(astrology) The zodiac sign over which a planet (a term which in astrology includes the Sun and Moon) is considered to have especially strong influence; the planet is called the sign's ruling planet or sign ruler.


Sylvia

Feminine form of a Medieval form of Silvius, from Latin silva (“forest”). In myths, Rhea Silvia was the mother of famous twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. 6th-century saint Silvia was the mother of the pope Gregory the Great.

(Roman mythology) Short for Princess Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome.


Silvius

From Latin Silvius, from silva (“forest”).

(Roman mythology) The son of Ascanius and his wife.


Uathach

(Irish mythology) The daughter of Scáthach and later the lover of Cúchulainn (after a duel with Cochar Crufe).


Cethern

(Irish mythology) In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, an Ulster warrior (son of Fintan) who assists Cúchulainn in the Táin Bó Cúailnge.


Táin Bó Cúailnge

(Irish mythology) The central tale in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.


Cú Roí

The first element is apparently cú (“hound”); the second probably means "battlefield", making the whole term "hound of the battlefield".

(Irish mythology) A king of Munster and sorcerer who was killed by Cúchulainn and avenged by his son, Lugaid mac Con Roí, who was subsequently killed by Conall the Victorious.


Clymene

(Greek mythology) A nymph married to Iapetus, mother of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius and Atlas.


Flidais

(Irish mythology) A woodland goddess whose chariot is drawn by deer.


Mesgegra

Mes Gegra (alternative)
Mes Gedra (alternative)

Conall the Victorious
Conall the Victorious

(Irish mythology) The king of Leinster during the events of the Ulster Cycle. He was killed by Conall the Victorious.


Mórrígan

the Mórrígan (canonical)
Morrígan (alternative)
Morrigu (alternative)

From Irish Mór-Ríoghain ("great queen"), from Middle Irish Morrígan.

(Irish mythology) An Irish mythological figure widely considered to be a goddess, and usually interpreted as a triple goddess.


Macha

(Irish mythology) The wife of Nemed. She died only twelve days after arriving in Ireland.


Donn Cuailnge

(Irish mythology) The Brown Bull of Cooley: an extremely fertile stud bull over whom the Táin Bó Cúailnge was fought.


Hyperborea

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From Ancient Greek ὑπερβόρεος (huperbóreos), i.e. ὑπέρ (hupér, “over”) + βόρειος (bóreios, “northern”).

(Greek mythology) the land of sunshine and plenty, beyond the northern wind, home to the hyperboreans, a race of giants

Hyperborea

The mythical land of sunshine and plenty


sylph

First attested in 1657. From New Latin sylphes, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century. The coinage may derive from Latin sylvestris (“of the woods”) and nympha (“nymph”). Ultimately from the root silva (“woods, forest”). Related to sylvan.
More at Wikipedia.

Her heart fluttered with expectation—her step was buoyant with hope, and she sprung into the carriage with the lightness of a sylph.

Necromancy meant originally the conjuring up the souls of the dead, and later included the conjuring of all sorts of inhuman spirits such as sylphs, giants, and djinn.

1941, Rupert Gleadow, Magic and Divination, page 125:

(mythology) An invisible being of the air.


Tyr

From Old Norse Týr, from Proto-Germanic *Tīwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“god”). Doublet of Tiw.

(Norse mythology) The Norse god of war, identifiable with Tiu or Tiw.


Cassandra

From Ancient Greek Κασσάνδρα (Kassándra).

And so when Cassandra foretold the evils that were to come upon Troy, even her own people would not credit her words.

1897, Michael Clarke, The Story of Troy, page 30:

(Greek mythology) A prophetess who was daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen Hecuba. She captured the eye of Apollo and was granted the ability to see the future; however, she was destined never to be believed.


Lebor Gabála Érenn

The title translates as The Book of the Taking of Ireland.

(Irish mythology) A loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of an Irish race from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages.


Auster

For a Tempeſt. Take Eurus, Zephyr, Auſter and Boreas, and caſt them together in one Verſe. Add to theſe of Rain, Lightning, and of Thunder (the loudeſt you can) quantum ſufficit. Mix your Clouds and Billows well together till they foam, and thicken your Deſcription here and there with a Quickſand. Brew your Tempeſt well in your Head, before you ſet it a blowing.

1714 June 10, [Alexander Pope], The Guardian, volume I, number 78, London: Printed for J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's-Head over-against Catherine-street in the Strand, page 332:

(Roman mythology) The god of the south wind.


Cimmerian

/sɪˈmɪəɹ.ɪ.ən/

From the Latin Cimmerius, from Ancient Greek Κιμμέριος (Kimmérios, “pertaining to the Cimmerii”) + -an.

The city, there, of the Cimmerians stands
With clouds and darkness veil’d, on whom the sun
Deigns not to look with his beam-darting eye,

1791, Homer, translated by William Cowper, The Odyssey of Homer:

On their mysterious shores were the improbable homes of impossible peoples. The Great Sea, the Broad Sea, the Boundless Sea; the Ethiopians, "dwelling far away, the most distant of men," and the Cimmerians, "covered with darkness and cloud," where "baleful night is spread over timid mortals."

1900, Jack London, The Shrinkage of the Planet:

(Greek mythology) Any of the mythical people supposed to inhabit a land of perpetual darkness.

Κιμμέριος

any of the mythical people supposed to inhabit a land of perpetual darkness


Horus

From Late Latin Hōrus, from Ancient Greek Ὧρος (Hôros), from Egyptian ḥr.

(Egyptian mythology) The ancient Egyptian falcon-headed god of the sun, sky, war, and kingship.


Isis

Learned borrowing from Latin Īsis from Ancient Greek Ἶσις (Îsis), from Egyptian st-t:H8-B1 (ꜣst).

Grant me profane kiss / Oh Isis, mother ov all / Thy lips like morphine / Teasing my slumbering heart

2009, Behemoth, Defiling Morality ov Black God:

(Egyptian mythology) An ancient Egyptian goddess, the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, worshiped as the ideal mother and wife and as the matron of nature and magic; also worshiped by (some) Greeks during the Hellenistic period and featured in Greek mythology, and by Romans involved in what was categorized as the Cult of Isis.


fascinum

Here are some brides of ten compelled to seat themselves on the fascinum, the virile ivory in the temples of classical scholarship.

Today people use a four-leaf clover, the pompom from a European sailor’s hat, the fascinum (winged phallus, some of which were found in the ruins of Pompeii and seemed to have done little good there), and so on.

1988, Leonard R. N. Ashley, The Amazing World of Superstition, Prophecy, Luck, Magic & Witchcraft, Random House Value Publishing, →ISBN, page 107, →ISBN:

(historical, occult) An ivory phallus used in certain ancient erotic rites.


hamadryad

en-noun

hamadryad (plural hamadryads or hamadryades)

hamadryads (plural)
hamadryades (plural)

From Latin Hamadryas, from Ancient Greek Ἁμαδρυάς (Hamadruás), from ἅμα (háma, “together”) + δρῦς (drûs, “tree”).

af

The hamadryades have gone, like the golden fancies of which they were engendered—morning dreams of a young world scarce awake, but full of freshness and beauty. Yet often will the thought, or rather the fancy, come across me, that this wailing but most musical noise—heard in the dim evening, when every tree has a separate sound like a separate instrument, and every leaf a differing tone like the differing notes—is the piteous lament of some nymph pent within the gray and mossy trunk whence she may never more emerge in visible loveliness.

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 301:

The various supports, rafters, braces and plates are of pandanus logs of a rich oily brown, and make one think of a sylvan cathedral where hamadryads might very well dance, where Syrinx might be chased by Pan, Daphne by Apollo, and various other heathen rites take place in the dark hours before the dawn.

1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 106:

(Greek mythology) A wood-nymph who was physically a part of her tree; she would die if her tree were felled.


hyperborean

hyperboreans (plural)
Hyperborean (alternative)

/hʌɪ.pəˈbɔː.ɹɪən/

From Late Latin hyperboreanus, cognate with Classical Latin hyperboreus, from Ancient Greek ὑπερβόρεος (huperbóreos), composed of ὑπέρ (hupér, “over”) + βόρειος (bóreios, “northern”). See also Ὑπερβόρεοι (Huperbóreoi).

The Hyperboreans venerated Apollo over the other gods.

(Greek mythology, usually capitalised) One of a race of people living in the extreme north, beyond the north wind.

Hyperboréen

(Greek mythology), one a race of people living in the extreme north


silver age

(historical, mythology) A historical period of great accomplishment in a field or a society; in storytelling archetypes, usually following, and not quite as favorable as, a golden age, and not unfavorable as an iron age.


panther

→ Maori: panata

→ Welsh: panther

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

der

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


Fenrir

Fenrir
Fenrir (moon)
Poetic Edda
Prose Edda

Borrowed from Old Norse Fenrir (“fen-dweller”), Fenrisúlfr (“Fenris wolf”).

bor+

Fenris (alternative)
Fenriswolf (alternative)

Lokasenna, stanzas 37-40, comprise an exchange between Týr and Loki. Loki boasts that Fenrir tore off Týr's arm; Týr responds that although he may be missing his hand, Loki is missing Hródrsvitnir, that is, the famous wolf, Fenrir.

2001, John Lindow, Handbook of Norse Mythology, ABC-CLIO, page 113:

Feared and misunderstood, Fenrir was the bringer of doom to the gods and was known as "an axe-age, a sword-age, a wind-age, a wolf-age before the wrecking of the world."

2009, Sarah Bartlett, The Mythology Bible, Sterling Publishing Co., page 294:

It is my own opinion that the Black Shuck is another manifestation of Fenrir, the large and terrible wolf, who is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda.

2011, Nick Redfern, “Phantom Hounds of the Woods”, in Brad Steiger, editor, Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside, Visible Ink Press, page 46:

(Norse mythology) A monstrous wolf, one of Loki's offspring, who bites off Tyr's right hand while being bound by the gods in fear of a prophecy that he will kill Odin, remaining so bound until the events of Ragnarok.


Osiris

/əʊˈsaɪ.ɹɪs/

/əʉˈsɑɪ.ɹɪs/

/ɐʉˈsaɪ.ɹəs/

Borrowed from Latin Osīris, derived from Ancient Greek Ὄσῑρῐς (Ósīrĭs), derived from Egyptian wsjr.

der+

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


Golden Fleece

[ˈɡɒʊ̯ɫ.dn̩ ˈfliːs]

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


Capricorn

/ˈkæp.ɹɪˌkɔːn/

/ˈkæp.ɹɪˌkɔɹn/

(astrology): The zodiac sign for the goat, ruled by Saturn and covering December 22 – January 20 (tropical astrology) or January 15 – February 14 (sidereal astrology).


Arian

From Aries + -ian, from Latin aries (“ram”).

(astrology) Synonym of Aries, a person born under the influence of Aries.


Arian

en-adj

Arian (comparative more Arian, superlative most Arian)

more Arian (comparative)
most Arian (superlative)

The Arian nature is to create the idea...

1917, Herbert T. Waite, Compendium of Natal Astrology and Universal Ephemeris, page 39:

(astrology) Of or related to Aries, its nature, and its influence.


Athenian

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

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


mythologic

mythologic (comparative more mythologic, superlative most mythologic)

more mythologic (comparative)
most mythologic (superlative)

(mythology) Of or pertaining to mythology


Pleiades

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

ncog

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


Pollux

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

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


Hyades

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

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


Pterelas

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Pterelas.wav

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


Hellen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Hellen.wav

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


therianthrope

/ˈθɛɹ.i.ənˌθɹoʊp/

From Ancient Greek θηρίον (thēríon, “wild beast”) + Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “man”).

af

Among the depictions are a black rhinoceros, the body of an antelope covered by a red line, two white animals with black stripes that may be zebras, and a therianthrope. The therianthrope (Figure 9.11) appears to have a feline body with human hind legs that may have been added after the original legs had faded somewhat (Wendt 1974:27).

2016, Carmel Schrire, Past and Present in Hunter Gatherer Studies, Routledge, →ISBN:

One appears to have a large beak while another has an appendage resembling a tail. In the language of archaeology, these are therianthropes, or characters that embody a mix of human and animal characteristics. […] The otherworldly nature of the therianthropes also raises the possibility that they are mythical beings, or manifestations of “animal spirit helpers” that are common in shamanic beliefs, according to the study.

2019 December 11, Becky Ferreira, “Mythical Beings May Be Earliest Imaginative Cave Art by Humans”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(mythology) Any mythical being which is part human, part animal.

homme-bête

any mythical being which is part human, part animal


Ceto

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

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


Cepheus

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


Cassiopeia

kăs′ē-ō-pē′yə

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Cassiopeia.wav

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

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


peri

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish پری (peri), from Persian پری (pari).

bor+

He sent a Peri to Chundum Dew with a message: "If you wish to live, release the mortal in your power: if not, every demon in your service will immediately be put to the sword."

January-June 1829, “The Adventures of Hatim-Beni-Tye”, in The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and Its Dependencies, volume 27, page 549:

In an hour they hovered above Hampstead Heath, and the peri looked down for a lonely spot where she might alight in the sulphurous gloom of a dog-day sunset too blinding for anyone to look at […]

March 16 1916, Alfred Richard Orage, Arthur Moore, The New Age: A Weekly Review of Politics, Literature and Art, page 473:

The Padishah's son was also there, and he realized that the peri looked very familiar.

2008, A Fire in My Heart: Kurdish Tales, page 75:

(Iranian mythology) A sprite or supernatural being.


Fornax

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

(Roman mythology) The Roman goddess of ovens.


Apollonian

en-adj

Apollonian (comparative more Apollonian, superlative most Apollonian)

more Apollonian (comparative)
most Apollonian (superlative)

/æpəˈləʊnɪ.ən/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Apollonian.wav

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


domal

(dated, astrology) Of or relating to an astrological house.


Canopus

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


Mercurian

When a Mercurian is connected with the arts, it is often possible to discern a lack of the heavy, thoroughgoing seriousness which some artists seem to feel is the least that life deserves.

The thumb of a Mercurian has a tendency to be stiff, as they love money and may have difficulty sharing it.

2000, Madame La Roux, The Practice of Classical Palmistry, →ISBN, page 113:

Unfortunately yellow color is not unusual to find in the palm of a Mercurian.

2016, Ellen Goldberg, Dorian Bergen, The Art and Science of Hand Reading, →ISBN:


Plutonian

Plutonian (comparative more Plutonian, superlative most Plutonian)

more Plutonian (comparative)
most Plutonian (superlative)
plutonian (alternative)

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

plutonien

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Plutoniin liittyvä

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


Plutonian

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

affix

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

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

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

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

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

Plutoon liittyvä

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


Plutonian

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

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

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


Enceladus

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

(Greek mythology) A giant in Greek mythology.


Wadjet

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

bor+

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

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


repeater

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(ufology) A person who regularly sees unexplained sightings of paranormal phenomena.

avvistatore

a person who regularly sees unexplained sightings of paranormal phenomena


Alcmene

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

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

Ալկմենե

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


placement

en-noun

placement (countable and uncountable, plural placements)

(astrology) The zodiacal region of the sky in which the sun, moon, or a planet appears at the time and place of a person's birth.


Anthea

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

(Greek mythology) The epithet of the Greek goddess Hera


timestream

timestreams (plural)
time stream (alternative)

By killing his great-grandfather, the time traveller disrupted the timestream.

The slightest excess of effort might upset the balance at any point of the time stream, sending them backward into the past or forward into the future independently of my will.

[1931 December, Eric Temple Bell, “The Time Stream”, in Wonder Stories:

The timestream is littered with these blank areas.

Two different timestreams running parallel but at different speeds. Amy, you're in a faster timestream.

2011, Tom MacRae, “The Girl Who Waited”, in Nick Hurran, director, Doctor Who, season 6, episode 10, spoken by The Doctor (Matt Smith):

(science fiction, mythology) A metaphorical conception of time as a stream, or flowing body of water.


peng

From romanizations of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 鵬 /鹏 (péng).

(Chinese mythology) A legendary enormous bird.


moly

moly (countable and uncountable, plural molies)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Palladian

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

suffix

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

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

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

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

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

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

the figure for Palladian wisdom and chastity

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

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

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

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


Kourotrophos

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

lbor

Several Greek deities have a title *Kourotrophos, meaning ‘concerned with child-rearing’, but no Greek or Roman goddess is specifically concerned with lactation and there are few examples in art of the ‘nursing goddess’.

2012, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 249:

(Greek mythology) divine epithet meaning "concerned with child-rearing"

(Greek mythology) Ancient Greek goddess whose functions pertained to child-rearing


Phyllis

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

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

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

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

(Greek mythology) Phyllis, mother of the Trojan Alcaeus

(Greek mythology) Phyllis, consort of Ereuthalion


Alcyone

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

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

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


Eridanus

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

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


ascendant

en-adj

ascendant (comparative more ascendant, superlative most ascendant)

more ascendant (comparative)
most ascendant (superlative)
ascendent (alternative)

PIE word
 *h₂éd
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English ascendent (“ascending, rising; increasing in quantity; (astronomy) rising above the horizon”) [and other forms], borrowed from Old French ascendant, from Latin ascendentem, the accusative singular of ascendēns (“ascending, rising”), the present participle of ascendō, adscendō (“to climb up, go up, move upwards; to rise; to spring up”), from ad- (prefix meaning ‘(up) to’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb, mount; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump; to scan (poetry)”)). The English word is analysable as ascend (verb) + -ant (suffix forming adjectives from verbs with the sense of ‘doing [the verbal actions]’).
The noun is probably derived from the adjective, though it is attested earlier than the latter.

suffix

suffix forming adjectives from verbs with the sense of ‘doing 􂀿the verbal actions􂁀’

This Phœbus promis'd, I forget the Year, / VVhen thoſe blue eyes firſt open'd on the Sphere; / Aſcendant Phœbus vvatch'd that hour vvith care, / Averted half your Parents ſimple Pray'r, / And gave you Beauty, but deny'd the Pelf / That buys your Sex a Tyrant o'er itſelf: […]

1735, [Alexander] Pope, Of the Characters of Women: An Epistle to a Lady [Martha Blount] [Moral Essays], London: […] J. Wright, for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 16:

(astrology) In an eastern direction rising just above the horizon.

nouseva

in an eastern direction rising just above the horizon


ascendant

ascendants (plural)
ascendent (alternative)

[T]hey ſay that Jeſus in his natiuitie, had for his aſcendent, the ſigne of Virgo in her firſt face, as they terme it, […]

1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “A Solution of the Obiections of the Heathen ageinst Iesus, the Sonne of God”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] [John Charlewood and] George Robinson for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC, page 619:

At my Nativity, my aſcendent vvas the earthly ſigne of Scorpius, I vvas borne in the Planetary houre of Saturne, and I think I have a piece of that Leaden Planet in me.

1642, Tho[mas] Browne, “The Second Part”, in Religio Medici. […], 4th edition, London: […] E. Cotes for Andrew Crook […], published 1656, →OCLC, section 11, page 164:

There he was a mere cypher: here he was lord of the ascendant; the choice spirit, the dominant genius.

1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Club of Queer Fellows”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 2 (Buckthorne and His Friends), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC, page 22:

The most important part of the sky in the astrologer's consideration, was that sign of the zodiac which rose at the moment of the child's birth; this was, properly speaking, the horoscope, the ascendant, or the first house; the whole circuit of the heavens being divided into twelve houses, in which life and death, marriage and children, riches and honours, friends and enemies were distributed.

1837, William Whewell, “On the Mysticism of the Middle Ages”, in History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Times. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: J. and J. J. Deighton, →OCLC, book IV (History of the Physical Sciences in the Middle Ages), page 300:

(astrology, also figurative) The degree of the zodiac or point of the ecliptic which rises in an eastern direction above the horizon at a particular moment (especially the moment of a person's birth), which is supposed to have a commanding influence on a person's fortune and life; a horoscope.

askendentti

degree of the zodiac or point of the ecliptic which rises in an eastern direction above the horizon at a particular moment (especially the moment of a person’s birth) — see also horoscope


fum

fums (plural)
feng (alternative)
fung (alternative)
fung-hwang (alternative)

The fum is a bird said to be found in no part of the world but China. It is described as of most admirable beauty, and if at any time absent, or long unseen, it is regarded as an omen of some misfortune to the royal family.

1823, Richard Sickelmore, The history of Brighton from the earliest period to the present time:

(mythology, obsolete) A mythological Chinese bird, the fènghuáng.


Celtic cross

(cartomancy) A spread commonly used by tarotists, usually comprising a six-card "circle" or "cross" on the left and a four-card "staff" on the right.


Orphic

en-adj

Orphic (comparative more Orphic, superlative most Orphic)

more Orphic (comparative)
most Orphic (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Orphic.wav

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

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

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


Orphic

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

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

(Greek mythology) A follower of Orphism.


Wotan

Borrowed from German Wotan. Doublet of Woden and Odin.

Wotan, finding that there is no escape, turns for help and advice to Loge, the God of Evil, the spirit of flickering, treacherous fire, the master of cunning and deceit; and he introduces to gods and giants the lust for gold.

1894, William James Henderson, Preludes and Studies: Musical Themes of the Day, page 17:

In Anglo-Saxon mythology, kings were descended from Wotan, or Odin, the high god of the Teutonic pantheon.

2012, Ian Bradley, God Save the Queen: The Spiritual Heart of the Monarchy, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 70:

(Germanic mythology) Odin, especially in his continental Germanic form.


Alcides

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

(Greek mythology, archaic) Synonym of Hercules.


muke

Mandarin, perhaps 木客 (mùkè, “tree-lodger”).

2004, Richard von Glahn, The Sinister Way http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520234081&id=Qyz5I7fi4PQC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA93&printsec=8&dq=muke&sig=JY79_rk9YR_usCiystUTxqVr9RQ
According to the fifth-century Gazette of Nankang, the muke/shanzao likewise resembled humans in form and speech, but instead of hands and feet they had birdlike talons and nested in high trees. The tree-dwelling shandu and muke both seem to have some affinity with a changeling bird known as ye, which nested in the high trees of the remote mountains of southern China.

(Chinese mythology) A kind of tree spirit.


Doris

And snowy neckd Doris, and milkewhite Galathæa.

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

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


Midas

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

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


Valhalla

From New Latin, from Old Norse Valhǫll (from valr (“dead warriors”) + hǫll (“hall”)).

der

[S]uch souls as were detruded from the body by any violent method went strait to Valhalla. (Latin original: Nostratibus sane hoc erat infallibiliter persuasum, animas, non vulgares, neque senio morbove, sec cruenta morte & vi corporibus exeuntes, recta ad Vahlallam ferri)

1791 May 1, “Moore's Inquiry into the Subject of Suicide”, in Monthly Review, London, pages 24–25:

In some poems they are envisaged as divine figures, women who serve mead to the dead warriors in Valhall, and who fulfil the will of Odin in overseeing battle and making sure that victory is awarded to the right man.

1996, Carolyne Larrington, The Poetic Edda, Folio Society, published 2016, page xvii:

(Norse mythology) The home of half of all warriors who died gloriously in battle as well as many of the Æsir.

فَالْهُول

in Norse mythology, the home of warriors slain gloriously in battle


Phobos

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

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


Deimos

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

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


Callisto

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Callisto.wav


Themisto

(Greek mythology) the third and last wife of Athamas


Juno

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

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


asphodel

en-noun

asphodel (usually uncountable, plural asphodels)

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

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

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

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


Daphne

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

bor

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

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

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


dryad

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

der

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

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


Midas touch

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

Midaan kosketus

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

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


Penelope

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

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

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

(Greek mythology) The faithful wife of Odysseus.


Proteus

Derived from Ancient Greek Πρωτεύς (Prōteús).

der+

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


draugr

draugrs (plural)
draugar (plural)
draug (alternative)

(Norse mythology) An undead creature from Norse mythology, an animated corpse that inhabits its grave, often guarding buried treasure.


combust

en-adj

combust (comparative more combust, superlative most combust)

more combust (comparative)
most combust (superlative)

From Middle English combust (“burnt”), from Old French combust, from Latin combustus, the perfect passive participle of Latin combūrere (“to burn up”).

Guianerius had a patient could make Latin verses when the moon was combust, otherwise illiterate.

Who can discern those planets that are oft Combust, and those stars of brightest magnitude that rise and set with the Sun, untill the opposite motion of their orbs bring them to such a place in the firmament, where they may be seen evning or morning.

(astrology) In close conjunction with the sun (so that its astrological influence is "burnt up"), sometimes specified to be within 8 degrees 30'.


Meru

2003, J. Dina Bagdel, John C. Huntington Buddhist Cosmology: Environment of Meditative Transformation: Mount Meru, John C. Huntington, Dina Bangdel, Robert A. F. Thurman, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, page 66,
Buddhist realizations and transformations take place in a sacred meditational space known as Mount Meru, or Sumeru. In Western-language literature, the Mount Meru system is often construed as the "Buddhist universe," but this description is misleading as it implies a singular phenomenon. The Mount Meru system is indeed an expression of Buddhist cosmology, but it describes structure of the cosmos.

2013, Eric Huntington, Portrait of a Landscape: Depictions of the Meru Cosmos in Buddhist Art & Culture, Dissertation, University of Chicago.

(mythology, religion, usually with "Mount") The abode of the gods at the center of the universe in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions.

Mount Meru

mountain abode of gods in Buddhist, Hindu and Jainistic traditions


Inari

(Japanese mythology, Shinto) The god of harvests, fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and worldly success.


Norn

(Norse mythology) Any of the three goddesses of fate or destiny.

Norno

any of the three goddesses of fate or destiny


Chinese dragon

(mythology) A legendary creature, usually depicted as long and snake-like, with many claws, common in several East Asian cultures.

চীনা আজদাহা

legendary creature common in several East Asian cultures

(mythology) A large snake-like monster with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag, and the claws of a tiger; known for its benevolent behavior in ancient Oriental mythology.


shapeshifter

shapeshifters (plural)
shape-shifter (alternative)

/ˈʃeɪpʃɪftə/

The shapeshifter Lisa Bowalk, unable to shed the guise of a black panther, had gone onto the plain as a prisoner but was not now to be found among the dead above or the Captured down below.

Like the teller of shapeshifter stories—who conjures a shifting world of perceptions and expectations for his or her audience that is strikingly similar to the worlds created by the shapeshifter for its victims—the cultural practice of imagination...is an inherently shifty enterprise....

2003, Michael Bathgate, The Fox's Craft in Japanese Religion and Folklore: Shapeshifters, Transformations and Duplicities:

There have also been verified reports of fire-starters and ice-makers and a shapeshifter so powerful she was able to frame another Smallville citizen for a bank robbery!

Granted, Grace is talking about actual transformation, but she's a shapeshifter. For her, growing a couple inches taller is like an alternative to wearing high heels.

2015 January 30, Dan Shive, “Comic for Friday, Jan 30, 2015”, in El Goonish Shive - EGS:NP, archived from the original on 2022-08-13:

“The Jem'Hadar? You fought the Dominion? Ah. The shapeshifters sent many warriors to Sto-vo-kor. I wish I could have seen it.” “No, you do not. There was no honor, just massacres.” “But in the end you were victorious.” “Starfleet is supposed to be about puzzling together the mysteries of life, not fighting wars. I don't want to be a general. I don't, I don't want to send my friends off to die. I just want to be an ensign. If it was good enough for Sito, then it's good enough for me.”

2023 October 26, Mike McMahan, “The Inner Fight” (16:32 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 4, episode 9, spoken by Ma'ah (Jon Curry):

“Oh, no! That house belongs to shapeshifters. [spits]” “Fuck.” “You're kidding me, right?” “Shapeshifters are... extremely freaky.” “They are awful, abhorrent creatures that use the most ancient of sorcery to transform into whatever murderous, all-powerful shape their wicked hearts desire. And now, they have infiltrated our street.” “I have had horrible experiences with shapeshifters in the past. I was once in a relationship with a woman for four years who then transformed into a possum. I stayed with her for six more months, but then I just had to end it.”

2024 November 11, Jake Bender & Zach Dunn, “Laszlo's Father” (1:34 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 6, episode 6, spoken by Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou):

(fantasy, mythology, science fiction) A person or creature capable of changing their appearance or form at will.

canviaformes

creature capable of changing its appearance


apheta

(astrology) The planet that has the most influence on a person's life.