Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

promethean

/pɹəˈmi.θi.ən/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.09 in modern English

Syllables
Pro-me-the-an
IPA
/pɹəˈmi.θi.ən/
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to Prometheus, a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and stole fire from Zeus to give to them, for which Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle feed on his liver which grew back each night; he was later rescued by Heracles.

adj

Of or pertaining to Prometheus, a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and stole fire from Zeus to give to them, for which Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle feed on his liver which grew back each night; he was later rescued by Heracles.

adj

Of or pertaining to Prometheus, a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and stole fire from Zeus to give to them, for which Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle feed on his liver which grew back each night; he was later rescued by Heracles.

adj

Of or pertaining to the promethea silkmoth (Callosamia promethea).

noun

One with the qualities of Prometheus, or who acts in a Promethean manner (audaciously, creatively, etc.).

noun

A kind of lucifer match consisting of a glass tube containing sulfuric acid coated on the outside with a flammable mixture of potassium chlorate and sugar and wrapped in paper rolls; the match was lit by crushing the tube with pliers, causing the acid to react with and ignite the flammable components. This type of match was superseded by the friction match which was lit by rubbing against a rough surface.

Example Sentences

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Prometheus (“demigod in Greek mythology”) + -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives; and forming agent nouns). Prometheus is a learned borrowing from Latin Promētheus, and from its etymon Ancient Greek Προμηθεύς (Promētheús), from προμηθής (promēthḗs, “having forethought”) (from προ- (pro-, prefix meaning ‘before’) + μᾰνθᾰ́νω (mănthắnō, “to learn; to know, understand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to mind; to think”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”), in the sense of putting one’s mind to something)) + -εύς (-eús, suffix forming a masculine noun of the person concerned with a thing). The noun is derived from the adjective.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /pɹəˈmi.θi.ən/
  • British English: /pɹəˈmiː.θɪ.ən/

Inflected Forms

more Promethean (comparative) most Promethean (superlative) Prometheans (plural)

Derived Forms

Prometheanism

Questions

How do you pronounce promethean?
The recorded pronunciation is /pɹəˈmi.θi.ən/.
What does promethean mean?
Of or pertaining to Prometheus, a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and stole fire from Zeus to give to them, for which Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle feed on his liver which grew back each night; he was later rescued by Heracles.
Where does promethean come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce promethean

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