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Adonis

 - 5 dictionary results

A⋅don⋅is

  [uh-don-is, uh-doh-nis]
Use Adonis in a Sentence
–noun
1. Classical Mythology. a youth slain by a wild boar but permitted by Zeus to pass four months every year in the lower world with Persephone, four with Aphrodite, and four wherever he chose.
2. a very handsome young man.
Origin:
1615–25 for def. 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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A·don·is   (ə-dŏn'ĭs, ə-dō'nĭs)   
n.  

  1. Greek Mythology A strikingly beautiful youth loved by Aphrodite.

  2. often adonis A very handsome young man.


[Greek Adōnis, of Phoenician origin; see d in Semitic roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

Adonis

In classical mythology, an extremely beautiful boy who was loved by Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

Note: By extension, an “Adonis” is any handsome young man.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Adonis 
"a beau," 1622, from Gk. Adonis, youth beloved by Aphrodite, from Phoenician adon "lord," probably originally "ruler," from base a-d-n "to judge, rule." Adonai, an O.T. word for "God," is the Heb. cognate, with pl. of majesty.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ado·nis
Pronunciation: &-'dän-&s, -'dO-n&s
Function: noun
1 capitalized : a small genus of herbs of thebuttercup family (Ranunculaceae) having alternate finely dissected leaves and solitary red or yellow flowers
2 : the herbage of a plant of the genus Adonis (A.vernalis) formerly used like digitalis to treat dropsy
Adonis, Greek mythological character. Adonis was a beautiful youth much loved by the goddess Aphrodite. While hunting he wasattacked and killed by a wild boar. The grieving Aphrodite caused a red-flowered plant to spring forth from his shed blood. Linnaeus named the genus Adonis after the mythological character.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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