Standard Lemma guide
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.
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name
A pagan god or demon, associated with the underworld and envisaged as a powerful primordial being, whose very name was taboo.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A manufactured horror; a Frankenstein's monster.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
(Greek mythology) a mysterious and terrifying deity of the underworld
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: deity, divinity, god, immortal
History
Pseudo-loan from Ancient Greek, most likely actually invented by a Christian scholar c. 350–400 C.E. The origins of the name are uncertain, partly because the figure itself was possibly of imaginary coinage. Various theories suggest that the name is derived from the Greek words daemon (“spirit”, given the Christian connotations of “demon” in the early Middle Ages)—or, less likely demos (“people”)—and Gorgon or γοργός (gorgós, “grim”). A less accepted theory claims that it is derived from a variation of “demiurge”.
