Niobe - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Ni·o·be

Audio Help [nahy-oh-bee] Pronunciation Key

–noun Classical Mythology.

the daughter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion of Thebes. She provoked Apollo and Artemis to vengeance by taunting their mother, Leto, with the number and beauty of her own children; Niobe's children were slain and Zeus turned her into stone, in which state she continued to weep over her loss.

—Related forms

Ni·o·be·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Niobe

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ni·o·be Audio Help (nī'ə-bē) Pronunciation Key
n. Greek Mythology
The daughter of Tantalus who, after boasting that she had more children than Leto, suffered the killing of her own children by Artemis and Apollo, and turned to stone while bewailing their loss.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Niobe

1589, from Gk. Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, who was changed into stone while weeping for her children (slain, after she boasted of them too much, by Artemis and Apollo); hence the name is used figuratively for bereavement and woe.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

niobe
noun
(Greek mythology) the daughter of Tantalus whose boasting about her children provoked Apollo and Artemis to slay them all; Niobe was turned to stone while bewailing her loss

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Niobe

Ni"o*be\, n. [L. Nioba, Niobe, gr. ?.] (Class, Myth.) The daughter of Tantalus, and wife of Amphion, king of Thebes. Her pride in her children provoked Apollo and Diana, who slew them all. Niobe herself was changed by the gods into stone.

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