Lotus-eater

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A member of the legendary people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree, who have forgotten their homes due to the fruits' narcotic and stupefying effect. Greek

    "Men of Ithaca, this is meeter, / In the hollow rosy vale to tarry, / Like a dreamy Lotos-eater, a delirious Lotos-eater!"

  2. 2
    someone indifferent to the busy world wordnet
  3. 3
    Someone with a carefree, idyllic life. figuratively

    "Our readers will, we think, agree that this is admirably character­istic, and that the singers of this song must have made pretty free with the intoxicating fruit. How they got home you must read in Homer:—Mr. Tennyson—himself, we presume, a dreamy lotus-eater, a delicious lotus-eater—leaves them in full song."

Synonyms

All synonyms
bon vivantbon viveurclock watchercorinthiandawdledawdler

Example

More examples

"Men of Ithaca, this is meeter, / In the hollow rosy vale to tarry, / Like a dreamy Lotos-eater, a delirious Lotos-eater!"

Etymology

Calque of Ancient Greek Λωτοφάγος (Lōtophágos), described in the epic poem the Odyssey, Book IX.

Related phrases

lotus-eating

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