Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
adonis - 6 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.
Cite This Source Link To adonis
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.
Cite This Source

Adonis

A*do"nis\ ([.a]*d[=o]"n[i^]s), n. [L., gr. Gr. 'A`dwnis.]

1. (Gr. Myth.) A youth beloved by Venus for his beauty. He was killed in the chase by a wild boar.

2. A pre["e]minently beautiful young man; a dandy.

3. (Bot.) A genus of plants of the family Ranunculace[ae], containing the pheasant's eye (Adonis autumnalis); -- named from Adonis, whose blood was fabled to have stained the flower.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

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.
Cite This Source

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
Cite This Source

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.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see adonis on Thesaurus | Reference