Androcles

American

[an-druh-kleez] / ˈæn drəˌkliz /

Also Androclus

noun

Roman Legend.

a slave who was spared in the arena by a lion from whose foot he had long before extracted a thorn.

Androcles British

/ ˈændrəˌkliːz, ˈændrəkləs /

noun

(in Roman legend) a slave whose life was spared in the arena by a lion from whose paw he had once extracted a thorn

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Gough started his career in the 1946 television movie Androcles and the Lion.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2011

But when Benito Mussolini tried to make his mark in Greece, the paw began picking up thorns�until by last week Il Duce was badly in need of his Androcles, Adolf Hitler.

From Time Magazine Archive

The season starts with Comedy of Errors, July 28-30, continues with Cymbeline, Aug. 4-6, and ends with George Bernard Shaw's Androcles and the Lion, Aug. 11-13.

From Time Magazine Archive

She wanted to pet them if possible, considered Androcles the most fortunate of humans.

From Time Magazine Archive

And so for three years Androcles and the lion lived together in the cave; wandering about the woods together by day, sleeping together at night.

From The Animal Story Book by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023