actaeon
/ækˈtiːən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.70 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
Grandson of Cadmus, transformed into a stag by Artemis in book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Example Sentences
- "Amid so much prosperity, it was one of his grandsons, Actaeon, who first brought distress to Cadmus, when antlers, foreign to his human shape, sprouted from the youth's forehead, and his hounds gorged themselves on their master's blood."
- "[…] but I had the story from some French officers of distinction, who mentioned the name of the injured and prudent husband, and that he was a person of very high rank. That name, however, even if I had not forgotten it, I should not think it fair to repeat, because it would seem to be a matter of some moment to the gentleman though he was an Acteon, not to be thought so."
- "He once lost a friend by kindly inquiring after his wife, who had made an Acteon of him, first by the head ornament presented, and secondly by sending him to the dogs in the way of pecuniary circumstances."
- "If she don't make Actaeon of him before she's done, I'm a bishop."
- "[…] where vaine glorious Ixion Proclaymed, that he was the Minion of Juno, and had Acteoned Jupiter: for which arrogancie, Jupiter threw him to Hell, with this pictured vengeaunce."
- "Zuc. […] was I not a handſome fellow from my foote to my feather, had I not wit, nay, which is more, was I not a Don. and didſt thou Acteon me, did I not make thee a Lady. Herc. And did ſhe not make you a more worſhipfull thing, a Cuckold."
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.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Actaeōn, Ἀκταίων