Hecate

or Hek·a·te

[hek-uh-tee; in Shakespeare hek-it]

noun Classical Mythology.

a goddess of the earth and Hades, associated with sorcery, hounds, and crossroads.

Origin of Hecate

< Latin < Greek hekátē, noun use of feminine of hékatos far-shooting, said of Apollo as sun-god

Related formsHec·a·te·an, Hec·a·tae·an, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for hecate

Historical Examples of hecate

But Ceres shook her head, and hastened away, along with Hecate.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hecate appears as a gigantic woman, bearing a torch and a sword.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome
E.M. Berens
Call her Hecate, and she will bear any disguise, however fanciful.
Chips From A German Workshop - Volume I
Friedrich Max Mller
And I, by my power, tried by Hecate to draw him forth, but I could not.'
Saronia
Richard Short
Saronia had been powerless to help, and dared not question the vengeance of Hecate.
Saronia
Richard Short

British Dictionary definitions for hecate

Hecate

Hekate

noun

Greek myth a goddess of the underworld

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 hecate

Hecate

early 15c., Greek deity, daughter of Perseus and Asteria (said to be originally Thracian), later identified as an aspect of Artemis, fem. of hekatos "far-shooting." Associated since Shakespeare ("I Henry VI," III.ii.64) with witches and sorcery.