Phrase guide

Pied Piper

name · noun · 5 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /paɪd ˈpaɪ.pə/

1

name

Meaning 1

A folk tale or legend, dating back to the Middle Ages, about a ratcatcher in variegated attire, hired by the German town of Hamelin, who is not paid for his services and retaliates by luring away the local children by playing a flute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

The flute-playing ratcatcher who is the protagonist and title character of this story.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

That which draws many in its wake.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the title character in a German folk tale and in a poem by Robert Browning

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Pied Piper of Hamelin

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fictional character, fictitious character, character

5

noun

Meaning 5

a leader who entices people to follow (especially to their doom)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: leader

History

Etymology

Short for Pied Piper of Hamelin, from pied and piper.

From the folk tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who led away the townsfolk's children in revenge for not being paid after ridding the town of rats.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: El flautista d'Hamelín — a folk tale
  • Czech: Krysař z Hamelnu — a folk tale
  • French: Joueur de flûte de Hamelin — a folk tale
  • German: Rattenfänger von Hameln — a folk tale
  • Irish: An Píobaire Breac — a folk tale
  • Polish: Flecista z Hameln — a folk tale
  • Polish: Szczurołap z Hameln — a folk tale
  • Russian: Га́мельнский Крысоло́в (Gámelʹnskij Krysolóv) — a folk tale
  • Turkish: Fareli Köyün Kavalcısı — a folk tale
  • Czech: Krysař — the main character in this story
  • French: Joueur de flûte de Hamelin — the main character in this story
  • German: Rattenfänger von Hameln — the main character in this story
  • Irish: Píobaire Breac — the main character in this story
  • Polish: Flecista z Hameln — the main character in this story
  • Polish: Szczurołap z Hameln — the main character in this story
  • Russian: Га́мельнский Крысоло́в (Gámelʹnskij Krysolóv) — the main character in this story
  • Turkish: Fareli Köyün Kavalcısı — the main character in this story
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吸引物 — anyone or anything that draws many in its wake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 號召力 /号召力 (hàozhàolì) — anyone or anything that draws many in its wake
  • Finnish: Hamelnin pillipiipari — anyone or anything that draws many in its wake
  • German: Rattenfänger — anyone or anything that draws many in its wake
  • Portuguese: flautista de Hamelin — anyone or anything that draws many in its wake
  • Russian: Га́мельнский крысоло́в (Gámelʹnskij krysolóv) — anyone or anything that draws many in its wake