ephebe

See also: éphèbe

English

Etymology

Via Latin ephēbus, from Ancient Greek ἔφηβος (éphēbos, “adolescent”), from ἐπί (epí, “early”) +‎ ἥβη (hḗbē, “manhood”), late 19th c.

Noun

ephebe (plural ephebes or ephebi)

1. (historical) A 18- to 20-year-old man in ancient Greece undergoing military training.
2. (by extension) A young man; a youth.
   • 1922, James Joyce, “9”, in Ulysses, page 190:

     His glance touched their faces lightly as he smiled, a blond ephebe. Tame essence of Wilde.

   • 1993, Anthony Burgess, A Dead Man in Deptford:

     Indeed Tom was much still the ephebe, sharing boys with his friend though talking of the gravity of marriage.

Derived terms

• ephebophilia

Related terms

• ephebos
• ephebus

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Latin

Noun

(deprecated template usage) ephēbe m

1. vocative singular of ephēbus