Atalanta

[ at-l-an-tuh ]

/ ˌæt lˈæn tə /

noun

Classical Mythology. a virgin huntress who promised to marry the man who could win a foot race against her but lost to Hippomenes when she stopped to retrieve three golden apples of Aphrodite that he dropped in her path.

Also At·a·lan·te

[at-l-an-tee] /ˌæt lˈæn ti/.

Compare Melanion.

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

Examples from the Web for atalanta

Atalanta is a young princess, and her father has decreed she must marry whichever man wins a footrace.
‘Free to Be…You and Me’ Did Not Emasculate Men|Emily Shire|March 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's so funny—it's so long since I've seen your hair, Atalanta, dear.
Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays|Various
Before Hardwick could accept or refuse, she sprang up the narrow winding path as lightly as Atalanta.
A Son of Perdition|Fergus Hume
I felt inclined to wave my hat in the air, and cry, ‘Bravo, Atalanta!’
Not Like Other Girls|Rosa N. Carey

Even if Prince Meleager had lived, it is doubtful if he could ever have won Atalanta to be his wife.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew|Josephine Preston Peabody
If you do not, he'll be with you again, like Atalanta in the fable, and make you drop another of your golden apples.
Dryden's Works Vol. 3 (of 18)|John Dryden

British Dictionary definitions for atalanta

Atalanta

/ (ˌætəˈlæntə) /

noun

Greek myth a maiden who agreed to marry any man who could defeat her in a running race. She lost to Hippomenes when she paused to pick up three golden apples that he had deliberately dropped

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

Word Origin and History for atalanta

Atalanta

in Greek mythology the daughter of king Schoeneus, famous for her swiftness, Latin, from Greek Atalante, fem. of atalantos "having the same value (as a man)," from a- "one, together" + talanton "balance, weight, value" (cf. talent).