Cthulhu

American  

[kuh-thoo-loo] / kəˈθu lu /

noun

1. an otherworldly entity, usually portrayed as a gigantic winged creature with a humanoid body and a tentacled face, that was created by the horror writer H.P. Lovecraft in the 1928 short story The Call of Cthulhu and became an important part of Lovecraft's mythos, later also becoming a popular culture reference.

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Etymology

Origin of Cthulhu

Coined in 1928 by U.S. writer H.P. Lovecraft ( def. ) (1890–1937) in his short story The Call of Cthulhu, published in the U.S. pulp magazine Weird Tales; resemblance to chthonian or chthonic is accidental

Example Sentences

There is a cultural feeling of doom, this sense that Cthulhu underlies modern society, and we are waiting for it to collapse, or worse.

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2023

Later writers expanded Heyer’s imagined world — meaning the Regency setting is romance’s version of the Cthulhu mythos, albeit one populated with handsome dukes instead of tentacular horrors.

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2022

The best-known of these creatures is Cthulhu, a many-tentacled, bat-winged octopus-dragon hybrid that has inspired countless other horror-movie monsters.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2020

It’s a mask some human wears, just as Cthulhu is a mask Lovecraft wore.

From The Verge • Sep. 9, 2019

Anyone who attended NecronomiCon 2019 will certainly agree: Cthulhu really should have arisen from the ocean depths, where he lies dreaming and waiting, for — in Providence, this August — the stars were right again.

From Washington Post • Sep. 4, 2019