Other Word Forms
- Avernal adjective
Etymology
Origin of Avernus
< Latin < Greek áornos birdless, equivalent to a- a- 6 + órn ( is ) bird + -os adj. suffix
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.
Trojan, Anchises’ son, the descent of Avernus is easy.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The lake of Avernus, evidently the crater of an ancient Volcano.31.
From Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos by Hamilton, William
Ulysses was said to reach the place of the dead by crossing the ocean to the Cimmerian land, Æneas to have entered it by the Lake of Avernus.
From Astronomical Myths Based on Flammarions's History of the Heavens by Blake, John F.
The ghosts of those who had not been buried with funeral rites, were obliged to wander for a hundred years by the gloomy waters of Avernus, before Charon could carry them to the other side.
From The Student's Mythology A Compendium of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Hindoo, Chinese, Thibetian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Aztec, and Peruvian Mythologies by White, Catherine Ann
The scene of Aeneas’s descent to the underworld is laid by the lake of Avernus, where, buried amid gloomy woods, was the cave of the Cumaean Sibyl.
From Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius by Dill, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
