salutary adj

[MF salutaire, fr. L salutaris, fr. salus health, or Salus the Roman goddess of health] 1 : producing a beneficial effect 2 : promoting health, a curative

Saronic Gulf n

[fr. Gk Saron, mythological king of Troezan who chased a doe into this sea and was drowned there] : an inlet of the Aegean on the SE coast of Greece

Saturday n

[fr. L Saturnus Saturn, ancient Roman god of agriculture and father of Jupiter] : the seventh day of the week

Saturn n

[L Saturnus Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and father of Jupiter] : the 6th planet from the sun 2 trademark : a make of automobile

saturnalia n

1 : an unrestrained often licentious celebration 2 : excess, extravagance

Saturnian adj

of, relating to, or influenced by the planet Saturn

saturniid n

[NL Saturniidae, fr. Saturnia, genus of moths, fr. L, daughter of Saturn] : any of a family (Saturniidae) of usually large stout strong-winged moths

saturnine adj

[L Saturnus] 1 : cold and steady in mood 2 : of a gloomy or surly disposition 3 : having a sardonic aspect

satyr n

[ME, fr. L satyrus, fr. Gk satyros Satyr, a sylvan deity in Greek mythology having the legs, hooves, and horns of a goat, and being fond of Dionysian revelry] 1 a : a lecherous man b : one having satyriasis 2 : any of various usually brown and gray satyrid butterflies

satyriasis n

excessive or abnormal sexual craving in a male

satyrid n

any of a family (Satyridae) of brownish butterflies that feed on grasses and have a forewing vein swollen basally

Scylla n

[fr. L, fr. Gk Skylle Scylla, a nymph transformed into a sea monster who terrorizes sailors in the Strait of Messina; associated with Charybdis] 1 : a hazardous rock located in the Strait of Messina off the coast of Italy -- compare Charybdis 2 : between Scylla and Charybdis, between two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which can be passed without encountering the other, i.e. between a rock and a hard place

Selena n

[fr. Gk Selene, daughter of Hyperion and Theia and the personification of the moon, who loved Endymion] : a girl's given name

¹ sibyl n

[fr. Gk Sybill(a) Sybil, a prophetess in Greek mythology, the sibyl] : a prophetess or witch

² Sibyl n

a girl's given name

silenaceous adj

[fr. NL Silen(e) name of genus, after Silenus, a god of the forest in ancient mythology represented as a hairy old man with the ears and legs of a horse, drunk, and seated astride a cask or a donkey] : caryophyllaceous, belonging to the Caryophylla or pink family of plants

¹ siren n

[ME sereyn, fr. OF sereine, fr. L Siren, fr. Gk Serein Siren, one of several mythological Greek sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, supposed to lure sailors to their destruction by their seductive singing] 1 a : a woman who sings with bewitching sweetness b : temptress 2 a : an apparatus producing musical tones b : a device often electrically operated for producing a penetrating warning sound

² siren n

[NL, fr. L] : either of two North American eel-shaped amphibians that constitute a genus (Siren)

sirenian n

[NL Sirenia, fr. L siren] : any of an order (Sirenia) of aquatic herbivorous mammals including the manatee, dugong, and Stellar's sea cow

siren song n

an alluring utterance or appeal, especially one that is seductive or deceptive

Sisyphean adj

[fr. L Sisyphus, fr. Gk Sisyphos, a legendary king of Corinth condemned eternally to repeat the cycle of rolling a heavy rock up a hill in Hades each day only to roll down again as it nears the top] 1 : of, relating to, or suggestive of the labors of Sisyphus 2 : endless and unavailing, as a labor or task

somnambulate v

[fr. L somnus sleep, assoc. with Somnus, the ancient Roman god of sleep, + ambulatus to walk] : to walk while sleeping

Sphingidae n

[fr. Gk Sphinx, Sphix a winged female monster in Greek mythology having a woman's head and a lion's body and noted for killing anyone unable to answer its riddle] : a family of moth

sphinx n

[L, fr. Gk Sphinx, Sphix] 1 : an enigmatic or mysterious person 2 : hawkmoth

stamina n

[L, pl. of stamen warp, thread of life spun by the Fates] : staying power, endurance

sterculiaceous adj

[fr. NL sterculi(a), special use of Sterculius the Roman god of manuring] : belonging to the Sterculiaceae, a family of trees and shrubs comprising the cacao and kola nut trees

stygian adj

[L stygius, fr. Gk stygios, fr. Styg-, Styx Styx, the principal river surrounding the Underworld in Greek mythology] : extremely dark, forbidding, gloomy

syrinx n

[L, fr. Gk syrinxein, to play on the pipes of Pan, which according to mythology was named after the nymph Syrinx, who was transformed in order to protect her chastity from Pan into the reed from which he made the panpipe] 1 : panpipe 2 : the vocal organ of birds

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Elizabeth W. Kraemer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Last updated 1/13/14