Dictionary.com

chthonian

[ thoh-nee-uhn ]
/ ˈθoʊ ni ən /
See synonyms for chthonian on Thesaurus.com

adjective Classical Mythology.

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. 2021

Words related to chthonian

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

Example sentences from the Web for chthonian

  • She was also "a queen over death and the dead," a chthonic characteristic.

    The World of Homer|Andrew Lang

  • In Classical Greece chthonic worship and hero worship seem on the whole to be more prominent than that of the gods.

    The Heroic Age|H. Munro Chadwick

British Dictionary definitions for chthonian

chthonian

chthonic (ˈθɒnɪk)

/ (ˈθəʊnɪən) /

adjective

of or relating to the underworld

Word Origin for chthonian

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