This week’s theme
Eponyms

This week’s words
galvanic
stan
maecenatism
alastor
Pygmalion

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(uh-LAS-tuhr)

MEANING:

noun: An avenger.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Alastor, a deity or spirit of vengeance in Greek mythology. The name is apparently from Greek a- (not) + lathein (to forget), alluding to this deity’s role in ensuring that the members of a family remember acts of vengeance and commit fresh crimes, thus perpetuating the cycle of bloodshed (think Romeo & Juliet’s families). Earliest documented use: 1603.

USAGE:

“It’s too bad you went to Eton and Oxford, Roundsby. If you had been brought up by a gypsy grandmother, you would have recognized an alastor too, and perhaps taken steps to be rid of me.”
Rebecca J. Allred, et al.; Chilling Horror; Flame Tree; 2016.

See more usage examples of alastor in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: