- a variation of chthonic.
chthonian
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of chthonian
First recorded in 1840–50; from Greek chthóni(os) ( chthon-, stem of chthṓn “earth” + -ios adjective suffix) + -an; akin to Latin humus “earth” ( see humus)
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.
Director Donskoi's cartoon-capitalists are often fun to look at, if impossible to take seriously, and even moviegoers who cannot believe in Marxist fairy tales will feel the chthonian power of Donskoi's images.
From Time Magazine Archive
But even in Greece we must remember the gloomy chthonian rites, and the degradations of Orphism mentioned by Plato in the Republic.
From The Legacy of Greece Essays By: Gilbert Murray, W. R. Inge, J. Burnet, Sir T. L. Heath, D'arcy W. Thompson, Charles Singer, R. W. Livingston, A. Toynbee, A. E. Zimmern, Percy Gardner, Sir Reginald Blomfield by Livingstone, R.W.
It must be strange to die, surrounded by jackals at their chthonian litanies.
From In Mesopotamia by Nicoll, Maurice
In some cases, like Serapis, he carries a modius on his head, and this, like the cup, is an emblem of chthonian gods, and a symbol of the fertility of the soil.
From The Religion of the Ancient Celts by MacCulloch, J. A.
There is also indeed a glimmering of the dark background of the nether world, and the chthonian powers that might send up the Erinys to fulfil the curse of the wronged.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various
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.
