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Eumenides

American  
[yoo-men-i-deez] / juˈmɛn ɪˌdiz /

noun

  1. (used with a plural verb) a euphemistic name for the Furies, meaning “the Kindly Ones.”

  2. (italics) a tragedy (485 b.c.) by Aeschylus.


Eumenides British  
/ juːˈmɛnɪˌdiːz /

plural noun

  1. another name for the Furies, used by the Greeks as a euphemism

"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

Etymology

Origin of Eumenides

from Greek, literally: the benevolent ones, from eumenēs benevolent, from eu- + menos spirit

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.

See Examples For:

"A Greek playwright entered a tailor shop. The tailor asked him, 'Euripides?' The tragedian responded, 'Yes, Eumenides?'"

From Salon Nov. 8, 2021

The Eumenides, “the Kindly Ones,” are also the ravening Furies.

From Washington Post Mar. 1, 2019

Most sinister of all is the Eumenides, a secret charitable order made up of the city’s wealthiest men that supports the workhouses, which takes its name from Greek myth.

From Washington Post Mar. 1, 2019

In Greek mythology, the Eumenides were three goddesses tasked with protecting the cause of justice.

From Slate Jun. 16, 2017

In Eumenides, Apollo, chosen to represent Orestes in his murder trial, mounts a strikingly original argument: he reasons that Orestes’s mother is no more than a stranger to him.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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