cyclops
UK /ˈsaɪˌklɒps/ · US /ˈsaɪˌklɑps/ noun, proper noun
Forms cyclopes cyclopses Kyklops
- noun (Greek mythology, Roman mythology) A one-eyed giant from Greek and Roman mythology.
- noun A one-eyed creature of any species.
- noun (derogatory) A person with only one working eye.
- noun (zoology) Any copepod in the genus Cyclops.
- noun (horology) A small magnifying lens in the crystal of a watch to aid in reading the date.
- proper noun Polyphemus, a cyclops character from Homer's Odyssey.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cyclōps, from Ancient Greek Κύκλωψ (Kúklōps, “Cyclops ['round eyes']”). The sense for copepods is a semantic loan from translingual Cyclops.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of a race of giants, sons of Neptune and Amphitrite, having but one eye, and that in the middle of the forehead. They were fabled to inhabit Sicily, and to assist in the workshops of Vulcan, under Mt. Etna.
- noun A genus of minute Entomostraca, found both in fresh and salt water. See Copepoda.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cyclops”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details