| caduceus |
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noun-
A symbol consisting of a staff with two snakes wrapped around it; symbol of medicine in America.
(seeCites)
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| Calliope |
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proper noun
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(context, Greek mythology) The Muse of eloquence and epic or heroic poetry; mother of Orpheus with Apollo.
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| Callisto |
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proper noun
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(astronomy) A moon of Jupiter.
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(mythology) A nymph of Artemis.
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| Calypso |
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proper noun
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(Greek mythology) A sea nymph who entertained Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years
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(astronomy) The eighth moon of Saturn
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| Camilla |
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proper noun
- A warrior Queen of the Volscians according to Virgil's Aeneid.
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(given name, female).
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| Cassandra |
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proper noun
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(Greek mythology) Daughter of King http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priam Priam of Troy and his queen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecuba Hecuba, who captured the eye of Apollo, Apollo and was granted the ability to see the future. However, she was destined to never be believed.
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(given name, female)
- Somebody who makes predictions which are never believed but turn out to be true.
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Somebody who makes predictions which are believed but turn out to be false. This "incorrect" meaning of the word is often used (in the UK at least) http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1676985,00.html.
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| Cassiopeia |
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proper noun
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(greekmyth) Proud wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda, queen of Eritrea. When she boasted that her beauty was equal to that of the Nereids, she was punished by Poseidon.
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(constellation) A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky representing Queen Cassiopeia from Greek myth. The constellation lies between Cepheus and Perseus.
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| Centaur |
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noun
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(greekmyth) one of a race of monsters having a head, trunk, and arms of a man, and the body and legs of a horse.
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(astronomy) An icy planetoid that orbits the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune.
- a skillfull horseman or horsewoman.
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(Rocketry) a U.S. upper stage, with a restartable liquid-propellant engine, used with an Atlas or Titan booster to launch satellites and probes.
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| Cepheus |
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proper noun
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(greekmyth) Husband of Cassiopeia, king of Eritrea, father of Andromeda. There may be two mythical kings by this name.
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(constellation) A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky representing the king Cepheus from Greek myth. The constellation lies between Draco and Cassiopeia.
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| Ceres |
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proper noun
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(mythology) The Roman goddess of agriculture; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.
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(astronomy) A celestial body orbitting between Mars and Jupiter; previously defined as an asteroid; now officially known as a dwarf planet; officially called 1 Ceres.
(wikipedia, 1 Ceres)
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| chaos |
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noun
- A state of disorder.
- A force that seeks to spread disorder.
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(mathematics) Behaviour that appears random and yet is governed by exact mathematical equations and so is actually deterministic. Chaotic systems typically exhibit exquisite sensitivity to initial conditions.
- An unseen force or energy believed to drive the universe.
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| Charon |
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proper noun
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(astronomy) The largest of three moons of Pluto. (Read more at w:Charon (moon), Wikipedia)
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(greekmyth) The ferryman of Hades. (Read more at w:Charon (mythology), Wikipedia)
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| Charybdis |
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proper noun
- A dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Sicily opposite Scylla on the Italian coast.
- In Greek mythology, a personification of the above whirlpool as a female monster.
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| chimera |
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noun
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(greekmyth) A mythical monster represented as vomiting flames, and as having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon.
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(genetics) An organism with genetically distinct cells originating from two zygotes.
- A vain, foolish, or incongruous fancy, or creature of the imagination; as, the chimera of an author.
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(architecture) A gargoyle that does not work as a waterspout.
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| chthonian |
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adjective
- Pertaining to the underworld; being beneath the earth.
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1955: ...I intend to apply the name to all gods and spirits of the earth, whether their functions are concerned with agriculture or with the grave and the world beyond, or (as often) with both. " W.K.C. Guthrie, The Greeks and Their Gods (Beacon Press 1955, p. 219)
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| Cimmerian |
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proper noun
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(Greek mythology) any of the mythical people supposed to inhabit a land of perpetual darkness
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| clew |
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noun
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(obsolete) A roughly spherical mass or body.
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(archaic) A ball of thread or yarn.
- 1962: on one side of her lay a pair of carpet slippers and on the other a ball of red wool, the leading filament of which she would tug at every now and then with the immemorial elbow jerk of a Zemblan knitter to give a turn to her yarn and slacken the thread. " Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire
- yarn, Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue.
1926: Not often did Jesse James leave a to his identity when he galloped away from a crime of violence, back into the mysterious Nowhere whence he came. " Robertus Love, The Rise and Fall of Jesse James (University of Nebraska, 1990)
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(nautical) The lower corner(s) of a sail to which a sheet is attached for trimming the sail (adjusting its position relative to the wind); the metal loop in the corner of the sail, to which the sheet is attached. On a triangluar sail, the is the trailing corner relative to the wind direction.
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(in plural) The sheets so attached to a sail.
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(nautical, in plural) The cords suspending a hammock.
2000: He taught us how to attach the clews to the ends of the hammock and then lash it between jack stays. " Ralph W Danklefsen, The Navy I Remember (Xlibris 2000, p. 21)
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(alternative spelling of, clue)
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(transitive) to roll into a ball
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(nautical) (transitive and intransitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)
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| Clio |
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proper noun
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(Greek mythology) The Muse of history and heroic poetry.
- a female given name
- A model of car by manufacturer Renault.
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Fred loved to take his Clio for a spin.
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| Clotho |
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proper noun
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(Greek mythology) The youngest of the three Fates, or Moirae, daughter of Zeus and Themis; the spinner of the thread of life
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| cockatrice |
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noun
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A legendary creature about the size and shape of a dragon or wyvern, but in appearance resembling a giant rooster, with some lizard-like characteristics.
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"Peace reigns in happy Luxor. The lion lies down with the lamb, and the child, if it will, may harmlessly put its hand into the cockatrice's den" -- "The Spell of Egypt" by J. Walker McSpadden?
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| cornucopia |
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noun
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(Greek mythology) a goat's horn endlessly overflowing with fruit, flowers and grain; or full of whatever its owner wanted
- A hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things
- An abundance or plentiful supply.
- ''A student will receive a of homework every day.
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| Crius |
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proper noun
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(Greek mythology) A Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia.
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| Cronus |
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proper noun
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(Greek mythology) The youngest of the twelve Titans, son of Uranus and Gaia; father to Zeus; dethroned his father and was subsequently dethroned by his son.
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| Cupid |
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proper noun
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(Roman mythology) : The god of love, son of Venus; usually depicted as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow.
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| Cyclopean |
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adjective
- suggestive of a Cyclops.
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of a style of masonry where walls are fitted together of huge irregular stones.
(seeCites)
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| cyclops |
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noun (cyclops)
- A one-eyed A one-eyed giant from Greek and Roman mythology.
- A one-eyed creature of any species.
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| Cynthia |
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proper noun
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(given name, female, from Greek, )
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