ogre

→ Asturian: ogru

→ Catalan: ogre

→ Dutch: oger

→ English: ogre

→ German: Oger

→ Hungarian: ogre

→ Japanese: オーガ (ōga)

→ Korean: 오거 (ogeo)

→ Malayalam: ഓഗർ (ōgaṟ)

→ Polish: ogr

→ Portuguese: ogro, ogre

→ Spanish: ogro

Inherited from Old French ogre, itself probably an alteration, with influence from words like bougre, of an earlier form *orc, from Latin Orcus (“the underworld; the god Pluto”), with metathesis. According to the Trésor de la langue française informatisé, first attested in the late 12th century meaning 'fierce non-Christian', and ca. 1300 meaning 'human-eating giant' (in fairy tales). Cognate with Old Spanish huerco (“the Devil”), Spanish huerco (“depressed man in the dark”), Italian orco (“ogre, orc”). Doublet of orque.
See also French lutin (“imp, pixie”), possibly from Old French netun (“marine monster”), derived from Latin Neptūnus, and also Old French gene (“mischievous fairy”) and Romanian zână (“fairy”), both inherited forms of Latin Diāna. A sermon by Merovingian French bishop St. Eligius (died 659) advises people against belief in Neptune, Diana, Orcus and Minerva.


Zeus

→ Vietnamese: Dớt

→ Persian: زئوس (ze'us)

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ζεύς (Zeús).


nymphe

→ Turkish: nemf

Inherited from Middle French, from Old French nimphe, borrowed from Latin nympha or nymphē (“nymph”), from Ancient Greek νύμφη (númphē, “young woman, nymph”).


sphinx

fr-noun

sphinx m (plural sphinx, feminine sphinge)

Borrowed from Latin sphinx f, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx).

(Egyptian mythology, Greek mythology) sphinx


gnome

gnome m (plural gnomes, feminine gnomide)

→ Danish: gnom

→ English: gnome

→ Norwegian Bokmål: gnom

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: gnom

From New Latin gnomus, not attested classically. .


Uranus

(Roman mythology) Caelus (Roman deity) Note: The Greek deity Uranus is Ouranos


Neptune

(Roman mythology) Neptune (Roman god of the sea)


Scylla

From Latin Scylla, from Ancient Greek Σκύλλα (Skúlla).

de Charybde en Scylla


Atlas

Learned borrowing from Latin Atlas, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas).

(Greek mythology) Atlas (son of Iapetus and Clymene, leader of the Titans ordered by Zeus to support the sky on his shoulders)


Cronos

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Κρόνος (Krónos).


griffon

Inherited from Old French grifon (grif + -on), from Latin grȳphus, gryps, from Ancient Greek γρύψ (grúps).

inh+

(mythology) griffin (legendary creature)


triton

Learned borrowing from Latin Trītōn, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek Τρίτων (Trítōn).


diable

Haitian Creole: dyab

→ English: diable, diablo

Chinook Jargon: le diaub

Inherited from Middle French diable, from Old French diable, deable, a semi-learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin or Late Latin diabolus, from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos).


Osiris

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὄσιρις (Ósiris), from Egyptian 𓁹𓊨𓀭.


Diane

→ English: Diane
→ Portuguese: Daiane


hippocampe

Learned borrowing from Latin hippocampus, from Ancient Greek ἱππόκαμπος (hippókampos), from ἵππος (híppos, “horse”) + κάμπος (kámpos, “sea-monster”).


Ys

1955, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Tristes Tropiques (1993 edition), Plon, chapter IX, page 89; translated 1973 by John and Doreen Weightman as Tristes Tropiques (2011 edition), Penguin Books

The bay at Rio eats right into the heart of the city: you land in the centre, as if the other half, like the fabled town of Ys, had already been engulfed by waves.

Rio est mordu par sa baie jusqu’au cœur; on débarque en plein centre, comme si l’autre moitié, nouvelle Ys, avait été déjà dévorée par les flots.


Vénus

→ Persian: ونوس (venus)

Comme l’ardant brandon Vénus

Guillaume de Lorris, Le Roman de la Rose 33.1

Like a burning torch Venus
helped the Lover more than anything


fleuve

Inherited from Middle French fleuve, from late Old French flueve (12th cent.), according to the traditional view, a dissimilated form of fluive, fluie, a re-borrowing of Latin fluvius (“stream”). Alternatively, confluence with Old French fluet, flot ("river, flood"; from Frankish *flōd) and/or borrowing from Old Norse flóð (“tidal flood, estuarine river or flood”) cannot be ruled out. See flot. Replaced native Old French fluns, flum, from Latin flūmen (compare Occitan flume, Romansch flüm, Italian fiume).

gl

"river, flood"; from Frankish <i class="Latn mention" lang="gmw-pro">*flōd</i>

cog

Les îles grandissent peu à peu et s’entourent d’une large ceinture de roches tapissées de mousses noirâtres ou de longs fucus bruns qui pendent à leurs flancs comme les roseaux de marbre dont les sculpteurs du dernier siècle ornaient leurs statues de fleuves.

1842, Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau, “L’Archipel de Chausey, souvenirs d’un Naturaliste,”, in Revue des Deux Mondes, volume 30:

The islands gradually grow and are surrounded by a broad belt of rocks carpeted with blackish mosses or long brown seaweed hanging from their sides, like the marble reeds with which last century's sculptors decorated their statues of river gods.

(mythology, art) a river god, or the allegorical artistic representation of a river as an old, bearded man lying on reeds and holding or leaning on an urn from which the river's water flows


Pallas

Borrowed from Latin Pallas, from Ancient Greek Παλλάς (Pallás).


Anubis

(Egyptian mythology) Anubis (Egyptian god of burial)


Ariane

English: Ariane


Élysée

→ English: Élysée

→ Korean: 엘리제 (Ellije)

Borrowed from Latin Elysium n, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἠλῠ́σῐον n (Ēlŭ́sĭon).

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Elysium


elfe

Borrowed from Swedish älf, from Old Norse alfr, compare Old English ælf. Originated from Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós (“brilliant, shining white”) via Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf”).


Athéna

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀθηνᾶ (Athēnâ).


Apollon

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Apollo (god)


Arès

Borrowed from Latin Arēs, from Ancient Greek Ἄρης (Árēs).


Poséidon

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ποσειδῶν (Poseidôn).


égide

Borrowed from Latin aegidem, from Ancient Greek.

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) aegis


sirène

→ Persian: سیرن (siren)

→ Portuguese: sirene

→ Turkish: siren

Borrowed from Latin sirēna, from Latin Sīrēn, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). Cf. also Old French sereine. Doublet of serin.


drac

Borrowed from Occitan drac, from Latin dracō. Compare the doublet dragon.

(mythology) a type of mythological creature associated with the dangers of water


licorne

From Old French unicorne via reanalysis as une icorne (with indefinite article), followed by further reanalysis of the new definite form l'icorne, or from Italian alicorno, variant of liocorno.


Méduse

From Latin Medusa, from Ancient Greek Μέδουσα (Médousa).

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Medusa


Hypnos

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὕπνος (Húpnos).


Perséphone

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη (Persephónē).


Ulysse

Borrowed from Latin Ulyssēs. The Roman name is commonly used for the Greek character, perhaps because a Greek-derived name would be rendered identically to Odyssée (“Odyssey”).


vouivre

Variant of guivre (a form influenced by Germanic), from Old French guivre (cf. also the form wivre), from Latin vīpera. See also the borrowed doublet vipère.

(mythology, regional) a mythical reptile said to inhabit Lorraine, Jura, and other regions of France


ambroisie

Borrowed from Latin ambrosia (“food of the gods”), from Ancient Greek ἀμβροσία (ambrosía, “of the gods”).

der

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) ambrosia


Pandore

Borrowed from Latin Pandōra, from Ancient Greek Πανδώρα (Pandṓra, “all gifts”).


Anansi

(mythology) Anansi (trickster spider in West African and Caribbean folklore)


stryge

Borrowed from Latin strīga, from strīx, from Ancient Greek στρίξ (stríx). Compare Old French estrie, which was the inherited form.


hydre

Borrowed from Latin hydra, from Ancient Greek ὕδρα (húdra).


thérianthropie

fr-noun

thérianthropie f (plural thérianthropies)

From Ancient Greek θηρίον (thēríon, “animal”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human”).


dryade

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


gigantomachie

Learned borrowing from Latin gigantomachia, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek γιγαντομαχία (gigantomakhía).

der

γιγαντομαχία


Chiron

(Greek mythology) an old, wise centaur who served as Achilles' mentor and teacher


Hécate

(Greek mythology) Hecate (goddess of crossroads and witchcraft)


Andromède

(Greek mythology) Andromeda (mythical daughter of Cepheus)


Morphée

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Μορφεύς (Morpheús).

bor+

(Greek mythology) Morpheus (the Greek god of dreams)


Procuste

From Ancient Greek Προκρούστης (Prokroústēs).


Œdipe

Borrowed from Latin Oedipus, from Ancient Greek Οἰδίπους (Oidípous).


Narcisse

From Latin Narcissus, borrowed from Ancient Greek Νάρκισσος (Nárkissos).


Énée

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Aeneas


Hathor

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἅθωρ (Háthōr).


Ææa

[1626] From Latin Ææa, attested in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Persa, une des Océanides, surnommée Æa ou Ææa, du nom de la ville capitale de la Colchide, où elle régnoit.

1806, Ovide, translated by Mathieu-Guillaume-Thérèse Villenave, Les métamorphoses d’Ovide : Traduction nouvelle avec le texte latin suivie d’une analyse de l’explication des fables, volume II, F. Gay, Ch. Guestard, page 201:

Persa, one of the Oceanids, also known as Æa or Ææa, after the name of the capital city of Colchis, where she reigned.

(Greek mythology) another name for various goddesses in Greek mythology

Ææa fut aussi le surnom de Circé, fille de Persa et du Soleil, sœur de Pasiphaé, et célèbre magicienne, dont Ovide parle dans le XIVe livre des Métaphores.

1806, Ovide, translated by Mathieu-Guillaume-Thérèse Villenave, Les métamorphoses d’Ovide : Traduction nouvelle avec le texte latin suivie d’une analyse de l’explication des fables, volume II, F. Gay, Ch. Guestard:

Ææa was also another name of Circé, daughter of Persa and the Sun, sister to Pasiphaë, and a famed sorceress, of whom Ovid speaks in the 14th book of his Metamorphoses.


Cocyte

Borrowed from Latin Cōcȳtus, from Ancient Greek Κωκυτός (Kōkutós, “lamentation”).


Achéron

Borrowed from Latin Acherōn, from Ancient Greek Ἀχέρων (Akhérōn, “lamentation”).


Phlégéthon

From Latin Phlegethōn, from Ancient Greek Φλεγέθων (Phlegéthōn).


Orphée

Borrowed from Latin Orpheus, from Ancient Greek Ὀρφεύς (Orpheús).


Tisiphone

From Latin Tisiphone, ultimately from Ancient Greek Τισιφόνη (Tisiphónē).

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Tisiphone


Éos

(Greek mythology) Eos (goddess of the dawn)


Champs-Élysées

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) the Elysian Fields, home of the blessed in the afterlife


Hespérides

(Greek mythology) Hesperides (a group of nymphs)


serpopard

(Egyptian mythology, Mesopotamian mythology) serpopard (a mythical animal resembling a serpent-necked leopard, known from Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian depictions)


Éole

(Greek mythology) Aeolus (god of the winds)


Éphialtès

(Greek mythology, history) Ephialtes (either the ancient Greek statesman or a mythological Giant)


Tartare

Borrowed from Medieval Latin Tartarus, alteration of Tatar, from a Turkic name. Influenced by Tartarus (“primeval god, underworld”).


Hébé

(Greek mythology) Hebe, the goddess of youth


Patrocle

Learned borrowing from Latin Patroclus, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek Πάτροκλος (Pátroklos).


Priape

(Greek mythology) Priapus (god of procreation)


Pénélope

(Greek mythology) Penelope (wife of Odysseus)


Persée

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Περσεύς (Perseús).


Thot

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Θώθ (Thṓth).


Ásgard

Learned borrowing from Old Norse Ásgarðr.


phoque-garou

From phoque (“seal”) + -garou (“were-”).


Charybde

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Χάρυβδις (Khárubdis).

bor+

de Charybde en Scylla


Polyphème

Borrowed from Latin Polyphēmus, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek Πολύφημος (Polúphēmos).


Sisyphe

Pour soulever un poids si lourd, / Sisyphe, il faudrait ton courage ! / Bien qu’on ait du cœur à l’ouvrage, / L’Art est long et le Temps est court.

1857, Charles Baudelaire, “Le Guignon”, in Les Fleurs du mal:

La lutte elle-même vers les sommets suffit a remplir un cœur d’homme. Il faut imaginer Sisyphe heureux.

1942, Albert Camus, Le Mythe de Sisyphe:


Océan

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός (Ōkeanós).


Rê

(Egyptian mythology) Alternative form of Râ (“Ra (Egyptian god of the Sun)”)


Psyché

From Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “spirit”).

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Psyche


lamie

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


Râ

(Egyptian mythology) Ra (Egyptian god of the Sun)


sylvain

(Roman mythology) a minor deity of forest, a sylvan


Maïa

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Μαῖα (Maîa).


chauve-souris-garou

fr-noun

chauve-souris-garou f (plural chauve-souris-garous)

From chauve-souris (“bat”) + -garou (“were-”), from analogy with loup-garou (“werewolf”).


animal-garou

From animal + -garou (“were-”), by association with loup-garou (“werewolf”).

(fantasy, mythology) wereanimal, werecreature


-garou

From loup-garou (“werewolf”). See also garou.


lion-garou

fr-noun

lion-garou m (plural lions-garous, feminine lionne-garou)

lions-garous (plural)
lionne-garou (feminine)


ours-garou

ours-garou m (plural ours-garous, feminine ourse-garou)

ours-garous (plural)
ourse-garou (feminine)


vache-garou

vache-garou f (plural vaches-garous, masculine bœuf-garou)

vaches-garous (plural)
bœuf-garou (masculine)


bœuf-garou

bœuf-garou m (plural bœufs-garous, feminine vache-garou)

bœufs-garous (plural)
vache-garou (feminine)


requin-garou

From requin (“shark”) + -garou (“were-”).


cochon-garou

cochon-garou m (plural cochons-garous, feminine cochonne-garou)

cochons-garous (plural)
cochonne-garou (feminine)


léopard-garou

léopard-garou m (plural léopards-garous)


louve-garou

louve-garou f (plural louves-garous, masculine loup-garou)

louves-garous (plural)
loup-garou (masculine)

From louve (“wolf”, feminine) + -garou (“were-”).


louveteau-garou

fr-noun

louveteau-garou m (plural louveteaux-garous, feminine louvetelle-garou)

louveteaux-garous (plural)
louvetelle-garou (feminine)

(fantasy, mythology) werewolf cub or pup


panthère-garou

panthère-garou f (plural panthères-garous)


rat-garou

rat-garou m (plural rats-garous, feminine rate-garou)

rats-garous (plural)
rate-garou (feminine)


louvetelle-garou

louvetelle-garou f (plural louvetelles-garous, masculine louveteau-garou)

louvetelles-garous (plural)
louveteau-garou (masculine)

(fantasy, mythology) female werewolf cub or pup


rate-garou

rate-garou f (plural rates-garous, masculine rat-garou)

rates-garous (plural)
rat-garou (masculine)


thérianthrope

thérianthrope m or f (plural thérianthropes)

From Ancient Greek θηρίον (thēríon, “wild beast, animal”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “person, human being”).


thériomorphe

From Ancient Greek θηριόμορφος (thēriómorphos, from θηρίον (thēríon, “animal”) + μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape”)). See also thérien and morphe.

der

Une divinité thériomorphe.


Circé

From Latin Circē, from Ancient Greek Κίρκη (Kírkē). The asteroid was discovered in 1855 by Jean Chacornac and named after the sorceress.


Toison d'or

(Greek mythology, heraldry) Golden Fleece


guivre

Inherited from Old French guivre (whence also vouivre), from Latin vīpera. Related to English wyvern.

(heraldry, mythology) a guivre (seprentine creature, variously limbless or winged and two-legged)


Rhènè

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ῥήνη (Rhḗnē).

bor+

Ῥήνη, ης (ἡ) Rhènè, nymphe, Il.2, 728.

1935, Anatole Bailly, Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette, page 1,717/3, s.v. « Ῥήνη »:

(Greek mythology) Rhene (a nymph, the paramour of King Oïleus of Locris, and the mother of either or neither of his sons Medon and Ajax)


Dédale

Borrowed from Latin Daedalus, itself from Ancient Greek Δαίδαλος (Daídalos).


Malnoue

From malnoue (literally “bad (marshy) pasture”), from mal- + noue.

Holonym: Sologne

(mythology, Sologne) A malevolent underground river (in actuality a very high water table that floods easily), connected to the Loire and harming people, cattle and buildings with diseases, rot, drowning, etc.


Étéocle

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek Ἐτεοκλῆς (Eteoklês).