Word of the Day

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

myrmidon

\MUR-muh-don; -duhn\ , noun;

(Capitalized) A member of a warlike Thessalian people who followed Achilles on the expedition against Troy.

A loyal follower, especially one who executes orders without question, protest, or pity.

Read the full entry|See synonyms|Comment on today's word

Quotes:

He risked assassination, torture or . . . retaliation, the defining signatures of Mr. Milosevic and his ultranationalist myrmidons.

-- Bruce Fein, "Follow U.S. war crimes advice?", Washington Times, May 10, 2001

Those who created EMU [(European) Economic and Monetary Union] -- mainly politicians and their myrmidons in the offices and conference rooms of Brussels -- portray a beckoning landscape of wealth, liberty and economic power that will rival the United States and surpass Asia.

-- James O. Jackson, "The One-Way Bridge", Time, May 11, 1998

Origin:

Myrmidon derives from Greek Myrmidones, a warlike people of ancient Thessaly.