arethusa

[ar-uh-thoo-zuh]

noun

Also called dragon's mouth, swamp pink. an orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, of eastern North America, having a solitary pink flower with a blotched, fringed lip: now rare.

(initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. a nymph who was changed into a spring to save her when she was being pursued by the river god Alpheus.

Origin of arethusa

1810–20; (< New Latin) < Greek Aréthousa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for arethusa

Historical Examples of arethusa

There was yet the Kln with which the Arethusa had to do battle.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various
The Arethusa had also come up and prepared (p. 256) to launch a torpedo.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various
Then Arethusa, in blind panic, fled before the god who loved her.
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Arethusa was also the name of a water-nymph inhabiting the spring.
Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca
Homer
And now, Arethusa, you are really going to learn to play on the piano.
Five Little Peppers at School
Margaret Sidney

British Dictionary definitions for arethusa

arethusa

noun

a North American orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, having one long narrow leaf and one rose-purple flower fringed with yellow

Arethusa

noun

Greek myth a nymph who was changed into a spring on the island of Ortygia to escape the amorous advances of the river god Alpheus

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