Ephebe

//ɛˈfiːb// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An 18- to 20-year-old man in ancient Greece undergoing military training. historical
  2. 2
    A young man; a youth. broadly

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

Synonyms

All synonyms
ephebosephebus

Example

More examples

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

Etymology

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

Related phrases

ancient greece

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.