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sisyphean

 - 3 dictionary results

Sis⋅y⋅phe⋅an

  [sis-uh-fee-uhn]
Use sisyphean in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to Sisyphus.
2. endless and unavailing, as labor or a task.
Origin:
1625–35; < Gk Sīsýphe(ios) (Ssyph(os) Sisyphus + -eios adj. suffix) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Sis·y·phe·an   (sĭs'ə-fē'ən)   
adj.  

  1. Greek Mythology Of or relating to Sisyphus.

  2. Endlessly laborious or futile: "Their patients' lack of education and the high cost of medicine make health care a Sisyphean task" (Frank Gibney, Jr.)


[From Latin Sisyphēius, from Greek Sisupheios, from Sisuphos, Sisyphus.]
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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Word Origin & History

sisyphean 
"resembling the labors of Sisyphus," 1635, from Sisyphus, from Gk. Sisyphos, a name of unknown origin. King of Corinth, famed as "the craftiest of men," he was condemned in the afterlife to roll uphill a stone which perpetually rolls down.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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