Colloquial Variant guide

Actaeon

name · noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ækˈtiːən/
  • /ækˈtiːɒn/
  • /ækˈteɪən/
  • /ækˈteɪɒn/
  • /ˈæktɪən/

1

name

Meaning 1

Grandson of Cadmus, transformed into a stag by Artemis in book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Greek

Topics: human-sciences, mysticism, mythology, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A cuckold.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To cuckold.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, rare, slang, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin Actaeōn, from Ancient Greek Ἀκταίων (Aktaíōn). In Greek mythology, Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag with horns on his head. In European folklore, horns were considered the sign of a cuckold, whence the noun sense of Actaeon, "cuckold", and the verb sense "to cuckold", are derived. Compare horned, put horns on, etc.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: Actéon — Translations
  • Greek: Ακταίων (Aktaíon) — Translations
  • Greek: Ακταίωνας (Aktaíonas) — Translations
  • Italian: Atteone — Translations
  • Japanese: アクタイオーン — Translations
  • Korean: 악타이온 (Aktaion) — Translations
  • Korean: 액티언 (Aektieon) — Translations
  • Latin: Actaeōn — Translations
  • Russian: Актео́н (Akteón) — Translations
  • Spanish: Acteón — Translations