chthonian - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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

chtho·ni·an

Audio Help [thoh-nee-uh

n] Pronunciation Key

–adjective Classical Mythology.

of or pertaining to the deities, spirits, and other beings dwelling under the earth.

Also, chthon·ic

Audio Help [thon-ik] Pronunciation Key.

[Origin: 1840–50; < Gk chthóni(os) (chthon-, s. of chthn earth + -ios adj. suffix) + -an; akin to L humus earth (see humus)

]

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

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
chthonian

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

chthon·ic Audio Help (thŏn'ĭk) Pronunciation Key
adj. Greek Mythology
Of or relating to the underworld.

[From Greek khthonios, of the earth, from khthōn, earth; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots.]

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

chthonian
adjective
dwelling beneath the surface of the earth; "nether regions"

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

Chthonian

Chtho"ni*an\, a. [Gr. ? in or under the earth, fr. ?, ?, earth.] Designating, or pertaining to, gods or spirits of the underworld; esp., relating to the underworld gods of the Greeks, whose worship is widely considered as more primitive in form than that of the Olympian gods. The characteristics of chthonian worship are propitiatory and magical rites and generalized or euphemistic names of the deities, which are supposed to have been primarily ghosts.

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