AUTOLYCAN

PRONUNCIATION: (o-TOL-uh-kuhn)

MEANING: adjective: Characterized by thievery or trickery.

ETYMOLOGY: From Autolycus, the son of Hermes and Chione in Greek mythology, who was skilled in theft and trickery. He was able to make himself (or things he touched) invisible, which greatly helped him in his trade. Shakespeare named a con artist after Autolycus in A Winter’s Tale. Earliest documented use: 1890.
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AUTOGLYCAN - a long chain-like molecule that forms out of a soup of small sugar molecules without need of a catalyst

TAUTOLYCAN - self-evidently able

ALTOLYCAN - a she-wolf with a low-pitched voice