paphian
/ˈpeɪfɪən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of, from or relating to Paphos, the mythical birthplace of the goddess of love on the island of Cyprus.
noun
A native or inhabitant of Paphos.
Example Sentences
- "[…] the Paphian deitie,"
- "Then thus incensed, the Paphian queen replies: / "Obey the power from whom thy glories rise: / Should Venus leave thee, every charm must fly, / Fade from thy cheek, and languish in thy eye. / Cease to provoke me, lest I make thee more / The world’s aversion, than their love before; / Now the bright prize for which mankind engage, / Than, the sad victim, of the public rage.""
- "So ſaying, the might of Vulcan loos’d the ſnare, / And they, detain’d by thoſe coercive bands / No longer, from the couch upſtarting, flew, / Mars into Thrace, and to her Paphian home / The Queen of ſmiles, where deep in myrtle groves / Her incenſe-breathing altar ſtands embow’r’d."
- "Cease admiration, sit to Cupid's feast, / The preparation to Paphian dalliance."
- "I lay, as it were, in the Paphian bower of bliss, in a state of exquisite sensations quite impossible to describe."
- "People passed, but they held me not. Paphian eyes rayed upon me, and left me unscathed."
Etymology
From Latin Paphius [from Ancient Greek Πάφιος (Páphios), from Πάφος (Páphos, “Paphos”) + -ιος (-ios)] + English -an.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Paphius, Πάφιος
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈpeɪfɪən/