Vocab Words Derived from Greek and Mythology
Terms
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- Adonis(n)
- Very handsome young man
- Aegis(n)
- Shield or protection; auspices; sponsorship(Shield used by Zeus).
- Amazon(n)
- Tall, strong, muscular woman
- Ambrosial(adj)
- Execptionally pleasing to tase or smell; extremely delicious; excellent
- Atlas(n)
- Book of maps(From Atlas a giant who supported the heavens on his shoulders)
- Auroral(adj)
- Pertaining to or resembling the dawn; rosy(From Aurora, goddess of the dawn)
- Bacchanalian(adj)
- Jovial or wild with drunkeness(From Bacchus, God of wine)
- Casandra(n)
- One who prophesizes doom or disaster(From Casandra, who was given the power of prophecy by Apollo. WHen she spurned his love he could not take back the gift s he added the stipulation tha Casandra would never be believed).
- Chimerical(adj)
- Fantasic; unreal; impossible; absurd(From Chimera a fire breathing monster with a lion's head, goat's body, and tail of a serpent)
- Draconian(adj)
- Cruel; harsh; severe; ironhanded(From Draco, an Athenian law maker who drew up a harsh code of laws)
- Echolalia(n)
- Automatic and immediate repitition of what others say(From Echo, a maiden who loved Narcissus, when he rejected her she pined away until nothing was left except her voice)
- Elysian(adj)
- Delightful; blissful; heavenly(From Elyspian, the mythological paradise where the brave and good dwelled after death)
- Eristic(adj)
- Prome to controversy; dispatations; argumentative( From eris, the goddess of discord)
- Faunal(n)
- Animal life; animals of a particular region or period( From Faunus. Roman God of animals)
- Flora(n)
- PLant Life; plants of a particular region or period(from Flora, Roman goddess of plants).
- Forum(n)
- Any median or place for open discussion and expression of ideas; a public meeting, a radio or tv discussion, editorial page, etc(From Forum, the marketplace and place of assembly for the people in ancient Rome)
- Hector(v)
- Bully; intimidate with threats; bluster(from Hector, bravest of the Trojans)
- Herculean(adj)
- Very difficult; requiring the strength of Hercules(a hero of super human strength)
- Hermetic(adj)
- Airtight(From Heremes, messanger of the gods and reputed inventor of a seal to keep vessels airtight).
- Iridescent(adj)
- Having colors like the rainbow(From Iris, goddess of the rainbow)
- Jovial(adj)
- Jolly; merry; good-humored(From Jove, or Jupiter, king of Roman gods)
- Labrynthine(adj)
- Full of confusing passageways; complicated; like the labrynth(Fabled maze in Crete)
- Laconic(adj)
- Using words sparingly; terse; comise(From Lakonikos meaning "Spartan"! The spartans were known for their terseness).
- Lethargic(adj)-
- Unnaturally drowsy; sluggish; dull( from Lethe, river in Hades, whose water when drunk caused forgetfullness of the past).
- Lucullan(adj)
- Sumptous; luxorious(From Lucollus, a Roman who gave lavish banquets)
- Marathon(n)
- Long distance foot race of 26 miles and 385 yards(From Marathon, where the Greeks defeated the Persian invaders in 490 BC. The fleet-footed Pheidippides raced to Athens with the joyous news, but fell dead after announcing the victory)
- Martial(adj)
- Pertaining to war; war like(From Mars, the God of war)
- Mentor(n)
- 1. Wise and trusted adviser(From Mentor, to whom Odyssyus entrusted the education of his son telemakos)
- Mercurial(adj)
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1. Quick; vivacious; active; lively(From Mercury, the Roman counterpart of Hermes, Mercury was the messanger of the Gods, the god of commerce, eloquence, magic, patron of travelers, rogues, and theives.
2. Inconstant; unstable; capriciousl subject to rapid and unpredictable mood changes - Myrmidon(n)
- Obedient and unquestioning follower(From the Myrmidons, a martial tribe who accompanied Achillies to the Trojan War)
- Narcissistic(adj)
- In love with oneself; excessively fascinated by one's own physical and mental qualities; ego-centric(From Narcissus, a handsome youth who didn't even look at any of the many maidens who loved him. However, when he saw his own reflection in a pool, he fell madly in love with it. His futile longing for himself caused him such suffering, that he died soon thereafter.
- Nectar(n)
- Something exceptionally delicious to drink(From nectar, the literally death-overcoming drink that made the gods immortal)
- Nemesis(n)
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1. Due punishment for evil deeds(From Nemesis, goddess of vengeace)
2. One who inflicts such punishment - Odyssey(n)
- Any long series of wanderings or travels (From the Odyssey, the poem dealing with the Odysseus' ten years of wandering on his way home from the Trojan War)
- Olympian(adj)
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1. Majestic; god-like; lofty (From Mt. Olympus, highest mountain in Greece. Its summit, obscured by the clouds frin human view, was the home of the gods)
2. Having to do with the Olympic Games, an international athletic competition held every four years. - Paean(n)
- Song or hymn of praise, joy, or triumph (A paean was a hymn in praise of Apollo, god of deliverence)
- Palladium(n)
- Safeguard or protection( From Palladium, the statue of Pallus Athena, which was thought to protect the city of Troy)
- Panic(n)
- Unreasoning, sudden fright that grips a multitude (from Pan, a god believed to cause fear)
- Philippic(n)
- Bitter denunciation; tirade (From philippics, oratuibs by Demosthenes denouncing King Philipp of Macedon)
- Plutocratic(adj)
- Having great influence becaose of one's wealth (From Plutus, the god of wealth)
- Procrustean(adj)
- Cruel or inflexible in enforcing conformity(From Procrustes, a robber who made his victims fit the length of his bed, either stretching them if they were too short, or chopping their legs off if they were too tall)
- Pyrrhic(adj)
- Ruinous; gained at too great a cost(From Pyrrhus, who suffered enormous losses in a voctory over the Romans)
- Saturine(adj)
- Heavy; dull; gloomy; morose(From Saturn, father of Jupiter. Though Saturn's reign was supposedly a golden age, he has become a symbol of heaviness and dullness because the alchemists and astrologers associated the his name with the metal lead)
- Siren(n)
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1. Dangerous, attractive woman(From the Sirens, creatures half woman and half bird, whose sweet singing lured sailors to thei destruction on the rocks)
2. A woman who sings sweetly
3. Apparatus for sounding loud warnings - Solon(n)
- Legislator; wise lawgiver( From Solon, noted Athenian lawgiver)
- Spartan(adj)
- Marked by self-discipline, bravery, ability to endure pain, and avoidance of comfort(From Sparta, a city-state in ancient Greece, whose people had the above characteristics)
- Stentorian(adj)
- Very loud( From Stentor, a legendary herald whose voice was as loud as fifty voices)
- Stygian (adj)
- Infernal; especially dark; gloomy(Form Styx, a river of the lower world leading into Hades, or Hell)
- Tantalize(v)
- Excite a hope, but prevent its fulfillment; tease (From Tantalus, who was kept hungry and thirsty in the lower world with food and water very near, bur beyond his reach)
- Terpischorean(adj)
- Pertainging to dancing (From Terpsichore, the muse of dancing)
- Thespian(adj)
- Pertaining to drama or acting (From Thespis, reputed father of Greek drama)
- Titanic(adj)
- Of enormous strength, size, or power(From Titans, lawless, pwerful giants, defeated by Zeus)