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chthonian

[thoh-nee-uh n]
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adjective Classical Mythology.
  1. of or relating to the deities, spirits, and other beings dwelling under the earth.
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Also chthon·ic [thon-ik] /ˈθɒn ɪk/.

Origin of chthonian

1840–50; < Greek chthóni(os) (chthon-, stem of chthṓn earth + -ios adj. suffix) + -an; akin to Latin humus earth (see humus)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

demonic, malevolent, hellish, devilish, wicked, lower, accursed, confounded, cursed, damnable, diabolical, execrable, fiendish, malicious, monstrous, nether, satanic, subterranean, blamed, blasted

Examples from the Web for chthonian

Historical Examples

  • It must be strange to die, surrounded by jackals at their chthonian litanies.

    In Mesopotamia

    Martin Swayne

  • The Chthonian deities form a counterpart to the dwellers on Olympus.

  • A man who divorced his wife was to make an offering to the Chthonian gods.

  • As a chthonian power, she is worshipped at the Samothracian mysteries, and is closely connected with Demeter.

British Dictionary definitions for chthonian

chthonian

chthonic (ˈθɒnɪk)

adjective
  1. of or relating to the underworld
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Word Origin

C19: from Greek khthonios in or under the earth, from khthōn earth
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 chthonian

adj.

1804, from Latinized form of Greek khthonios (see chthonic) + -an.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper