Amphitryon
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A host or entertainer. poetic
"With us generally the fault is the other way, and our Amphitryons 'lay on' the beverage too freely, which is also, though not equally, a mistake, for the best champagne when drunk pure, cloys upon the palate sooner than any other wine."
Example
More examples"With us generally the fault is the other way, and our Amphitryons 'lay on' the beverage too freely, which is also, though not equally, a mistake, for the best champagne when drunk pure, cloys upon the palate sooner than any other wine."
Etymology
Named after Amphitryon in Molière's comedy, who gives a great dinner. Amphitryon in Greek mythology was the husband of Alcmene, who was deceived by Zeus in her husband's semblance and so became the mother of Hercules.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.