Danaides

[ duh-ney-i-deez ]

plural nounClassical Mythology.
  1. the 50 daughters of Danaus, 49 of whom were condemned to pour water forever into a leaky vessel for having murdered their husbands.

  • Also Da·na·i·dae [duh-ney-i-dee], /dəˈneɪ ɪˌdi/, Da·na·ids [duh-ney-idz]. /dəˈneɪ ɪdz/.

Other words from Danaides

  • Dan·a·id·e·an [dan-ee-id-ee-uhn, dan-ee-i-dee-uhn], /ˌdæn iˈɪd i ən, ˌdæn i ɪˈdi ən/, adjective

Words Nearby Danaides

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Danaides in a sentence

  • Before, in that dreaming time, I saw that I had drawn water like the Danaides, in a pitcher full of holes.

    The Boss of Little Arcady | Harry Leon Wilson
  • It needed not only the energy of an American, but the tongue of a Dane and the perserverance of Danaides.

    The Sunny Side of Diplomatic Life, 1875-1912 | Lillie DeHegermann-Lindencrone
  • Mrs. Smidgkin, Mrs. Smidgkin, are you aware that the rain pours outside like the tears of the Danaides on their wedding night?

    Semiramis and Other Plays | Olive Tilford Dargan
  • When I saw her at work yesterday, it seemed as if I beheld her drawing water with the bottomless vessel of the Danaides.

    Cleopatra, Complete | Georg Ebers
  • This they apply as an emblem of endless and ineffectual labour, like the stone of Sisyphus, and the sieves of the Danaides.

    The History of Sumatra | William Marsden

British Dictionary definitions for Danaides

Danaides

/ (dəˈneɪɪˌdiːz) /


pl nsingular Danaid Greek myth
  1. the fifty daughters of Danaüs. All but Hypermnestra murdered their bridegrooms and were punished in Hades by having to pour water perpetually into a jar with a hole in the bottom

Derived forms of Danaides

  • Danaidean (ˌdænɪˈɪdɪən, ˌdænɪəˈdiːən), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012