Promethean
English
Etymology
From Prometheus (a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and gave them fire, for which he was punished by Zeus), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek Προμηθεύς (Promētheús) from προμηθής (promēthḗs, “having forethought”) from προ- (pro-, “before”) + μανθάνω (manthánō, “learn, perceive”) (from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *mn̥(s)-dʰh₁-, from *men- + *dʰeh₁-, thus "to put one's mind".)
Adjective
Promethean (comparative more Promethean, superlative most Promethean)
- Of or pertaining to Prometheus.
- 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion[1]:
- More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel.
- Daringly original; boldly inventive or creative.
- Of enormous size or strength; extraordinarily strong.
- (of a Romantic literary hero) Rebelling (or being a rebel) against a larger order; defying traditional moral categories; persecuted but dauntless.
Translations
of or pertaining to Prometheus
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daringly original; boldly inventive or creative
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of enormous size or strength; very strong
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of a Romantic literary hero
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Noun
Promethean (plural Prometheans)
- One who acts in a Promethean manner.
- A glass tube containing sulfuric acid and an inflammable mixture.
- (historical) A kind of lucifer match.