Adonis
[ə'dəunis]
Definition
(noun.) (Greek mythology) a handsome youth loved by both Aphrodite and Persephone; 'when Adonis died Zeus decreed that he should spend winters in the underworld with Persephone and spend summers with Aphrodite'.
(noun.) any handsome young man.
(noun.) annual or perennial herbs.
Edited by Claudette--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A youth beloved by Venus for his beauty. He was killed in the chase by a wild boar.
(n.) A preeminently beautiful young man; a dandy.
(n.) A genus of plants of the family Ranunculaceae, containing the pheasant's eye (Adonis autumnalis); -- named from Adonis, whose blood was fabled to have stained the flower.
Typed by Dewey
Definition
n. a beautiful youth beloved by Aphrodite (Venus): a beau or dandy.—v.t. and v.i. Ad′onise to make beautiful.
Checker: Sophia
Examples
- Dixey, then at the height of his 'Adonis' popularity, would come in in those days, after theatre hours, and would entertain us with stories--1882-84. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- There's not a finer fellow in the service, Osborne said, nor a better officer, though he is not an Adonis, certainly. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Why is he not an Adonis? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Amy's Adonis is a short, thick man, almost a mulatto, with little purblind eyes and straight, coarse, black hair; and his age at least five and forty. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
Typist: Tabitha