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Oct 29, 2026
This week’s themeEponyms from antiquity This week’s words Herodian Herodotean Odyssean
Ulysses and the Sirens, 1891
Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus. Art: John William Waterhouse Wordsmith Games
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargOdyssean
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
adjective: Relating to a long and eventful journey.
ETYMOLOGY:
Ultimately after Odysseus, hero of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey, which
recounts his ten-year journey home after the fall of Troy. Earliest
documented use: c. 1614.
NOTES:
After the fall of Troy, it took Odysseus ten years to get home to
Ithaca, including seven years in captivity. He even sought travel advice
from a dead prophet. When your journey requires a séance, you’ve gone
well beyond asking for directions.
USAGE:
“[No Direction Home: Bob Dylan] is a film about an artist discovering
himself -- an Odyssean return to that ‘home’ Dylan discovered in those
early records.” Paul de Barros; Bringing It All Back Home; The Seattle Times (Washington); Sep 23, 2005. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because
sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then
where are you? -Fanny Brice, entertainer (29 Oct 1891-1951)
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