English
phoenix
see also: Phoenix
Pronunciation
  • enPR: fē'nĭks, IPA: /ˈfiːnɪks/
Noun

phoenix

  1. (mythology) A mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to ashes on a pyre of its own making, ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes.
    • 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 19:
      burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood
  2. (figuratively) Anything that is reborn after apparently being destroyed. Usually used as a simile.
    Astronomers believe planets might form in this dead star's disk, like the mythical Phoenix rising up out of the ashes.
  3. (Chinese mythology) A mythological Chinese chimerical bird whose physical body symbolizes the six celestial bodies.
  4. (historical) A Greek silver coin used briefly from 1828 to 1832, divided into 100 lepta.
Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: fênix (Brazil), fénix (Portugal)
  • Russian: фе́никс
Phoenix
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈfiːnɪks/
Proper noun
  1. (mythology) A mythical firebird; especially the sacred one from ancient Egyptian mythology.
  2. (constellation) A spring constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble the mythical bird. It lies north of Tucana.
  3. (Greek mythology) A character in the Iliad and father of Adonis in Greek mythology or a different character in Greek mythology, brother of Europa and Cadmus.
  4. (placename) .
  5. (as "the Phoenix") A nickname sometimes used for Japan after World War II.
  6. Surname
  7. A male given name
  8. A female given name
Related terms
  • (astronomy) Phoenicis
Translations Translations Translations
  • French: Phoenix
  • German: Phoenix
  • Portuguese: Phoenix
  • Russian: Фи́никс
Translations

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004
Offline English dictionary