Orpheus

//ˈɔɹfi.əs// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A Thracian musician and poet, who failed to retrieve his wife Eurydice from Hades. Greek
  2. 2
    A male given name from Ancient Greek. rare

Example

More examples

"Love will make men dare to die for their beloved. Of this Alcestis is a monument for she was willing to lay down her life for her husband and so noble did this appear to the gods that they granted her the privilege of returning to earth, but Orpheus, the son of Oeagrus, they sent empty away."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ὀρφεύς (Orpheús), built from an uncertain root with the -εύς (-eús) suffix. Perhaps root-cognate to Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”).

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