helen
/ˈhɛlən/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.19 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
The daughter of Zeus and Leda, considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world; her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Any of various papilionid butterflies of the genus Papilio.
noun
Either of a pair of curved, spine-like appendages on some hyoliths.
Example Sentences
- "Fools on both sides! Helen must needs be fair, When with your blood you daily paint her thus."
- ""Is her name Ellen or Helen, Miss Viner? I thought —" Miss Viner closed her eyes. "I can sound my h's, dear, as well as anyone, but Helen is not a suitable name for a servant. I don't know what the mothers in the lower classes are coming to nowadays.""
- "...in 1910 she brought Helen into the world, the little female, or "mujercita", as her mother called all the babies, naming her after the glittery label on a facial ointment, The Helen of Troy Beauty Pomade, said to eradicate wrinkles, to soften and add a youthful glow to the user's skin - a fortuitous choice because, of all the sisters, she would be the most beautiful and, never growing old, would always possess the face of a winsome adolescent beauty."
- "Gemma followed her, thinking that Helen seemed rather an old-fashioned and elegant name for this rumpled young mother."
- "The Yellow Helen […] belongs to a clade of related swallowtail butterflies, the helenus group, or Helens, which are typically large, predominantly black butterflies with long tails and a large, white area on the hindwings."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French