Cimmerian

[si-meer-ee-uh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Cimmerian ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

Classical Mythology. of, relating to, or suggestive of a western people believed to dwell in perpetual darkness.

very dark; gloomy: deep, Cimmerian caverns.

Related formsCim·me·ri·an·ism, noun

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

Related Words for cimmerian

dim, misty, murky, shadowy, overcast, somber, cloudy, dingy, gloomy, black, drab, foggy, dull, darkened, faint, dusk, dun, infernal, abyssal, igneous

Examples from the Web for cimmerian

Historical Examples of cimmerian

In a valley among the black Cimmerian mountains the death-god Somnus had his abode.
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
There was something about the confidence in the Cimmerian's dark face that shook him.
A Witch Shall Be Born
Robert E. Howard
The helmeted guards at the frontier did not question the Cimmerian.
The Hour of the Dragon
Robert E. Howard
He and the Cimmerian knew each other of old, and without love.
Jewels of Gwahlur
Robert E. Howard
The tall Cimmerian was forced to bend his head as he stood up.
Jewels of Gwahlur
Robert E. Howard

British Dictionary definitions for cimmerian

Cimmerian

adjective

(sometimes not capital) very dark; gloomy

noun

Greek myth one of a people who lived in a land of darkness at the edge of the world

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 cimmerian

Cimmerian

adj.

late 16c., "pertaining to the Cimmerii," an ancient nomadic people who, according to Herodotus, inhabited the region around the Crimea, and who, according to Assyrian sources, overran Asia Minor 7c. B.C.E.; from Latin Cimmerius, from Greek Kimmerios. Homer described their land as a place of perpetual mist and darkness beyond the ocean, but whether he had in mind the same people Herodotus did, or any real place, is unclear.