Agamemnon
[ ag-uh-mem-non, -nuhn ]
/ ˌæg əˈmɛm nɒn, -nən /
Save This Word!
noun
Classical Mythology. a king of Mycenae, a son of Atreus and brother of Menelaus. He led the Greeks in the Trojan War and was murdered by Clytemnestra, his wife, upon his return from Troy.
(italics) a tragedy (458 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!
Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!
Question 1 of 12
On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Compare Oresteia.
Origin of Agamemnon
<Greek Agamémnon- (stem of Agamémnōn), <*Agaménmon-, equivalent to aga- great + men- (truncation of Menelaus, meaning king) + -mon- suffix used in shortened names
Words nearby Agamemnon
agalite, agalloch, agama, A game, Agamede, Agamemnon, agamete, agamic, agamid, agammaglobulinemia, agamogenesis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for Agamemnon
British Dictionary definitions for Agamemnon
Agamemnon
/ (ˌæɡəˈmɛmnɒn) /
noun
Greek myth a king of Mycenae who led the Greeks at the siege of Troy. On his return home he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover AegisthusSee also Menelaus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Agamemnon
Agamemnon
[ (ag-uh-mem-non) ]
In classical mythology, the king who led the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War (see also Trojan War). To obtain favorable winds for the Greek fleet sailing to Troy, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis and so came under a curse. After he returned home victorious, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.