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• dido
  dido

  noun

  a mischievous trick; prank; antic.
• Dido
  Dido

  noun

  a queen of Carthage who killed herself when abandoned by Aeneas.

dido

¹ American  

[dahy-doh] / ˈdaɪ doʊ /

noun

Informal.

didos, plural didoes plural

1. a mischievous trick; prank; antic.

2. a bauble or trifle.

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Dido ² American  

[dahy-doh] / ˈdaɪ doʊ /

noun

1. Phoenician Elissa.  Classical Mythology. a queen of Carthage who killed herself when abandoned by Aeneas.

2. a female given name.

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Dido ¹ British  

/ ˈdaɪdəʊ /

noun

1. classical myth a princess of Tyre who founded Carthage and became its queen. Virgil tells of her suicide when abandoned by her lover Aeneas

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dido ² British  

/ ˈdaɪdəʊ /

noun

1. an antic; prank; trick

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Dido Cultural  

1. In Roman mythology, the founder and queen of Carthage in north Africa. She committed suicide in grief over the departure of her lover, the hero Aeneas.

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Discover More

Dido is an image of the unhappy or unrequited lover.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• didoes
  plural
• didos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dido

First recorded in 1800–10; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, cut a dainty diplomatic dido by feeding a hungry naturalized Briton�"Flag," the fawn star of The Yearling, which had been presented to a London zoo.

From Time Magazine Archive

Perhaps you don't think she means it when she goes to every 'tea' and 'recital' and 'at home' and crazy dido from here to Beersheba and back.

From Cap'n Dan's Daughter by Lincoln, Joseph Crosby

When I seed him hangin' there I cut a dido and kep' screamin', 'Miss Gusta, he's a-dyin',' and them Fed'rals got plumb tickled at me.

From Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume XVI, Texas Narratives, Part 3 by United States. Work Projects Administration

Three times that night she woke in the bed with her curl-papers crackling for very fright; and the fourth time 'twas at the sound of a real dido below stairs.

From News from the Duchy by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir

That would be a pretty dido, I must say!

From The Girls of Central High on Lake Luna or, The Crew That Won by Morrison, Gertrude W.