lotus-eater

American  

[loh-tuhs-ee-ter] / ˈloʊ təsˌi tər /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a member of a people whom Odysseus found existing in a state of languorous forgetfulness induced by their eating of the fruit of the legendary lotus; one of the lotophagi.

2. a person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world; daydreamer.

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lotus-eater British  

noun

1. Greek myth one of a people encountered by Odysseus in North Africa who lived in indolent forgetfulness, drugged by the fruit of the legendary lotus

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Etymology

Origin of lotus-eater

First recorded in 1660–80; singular of lotus-eaters, translation of Latin Lōtophagī, from Greek Lōtophágoi, noun use of masculine plural adjective lōtophágos “lotus-eating.” See lotus, -phagous

Example Sentences

There is much truth in Mr. Gosse's saying that "the poet is not a lotus-eater who has never known the Gospel, but an evangelist turned inside out."

From Old and New Masters by Lynd, Robert

"It is exhausting, but with my usual energy I do it all the same," said Ernest, who is as a fact the world's champion lotus-eater.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, July 21, 1920 by Seaman, Owen, Sir

A moment he yielded to the temptation of the lotus-eater and continued to luxuriate in the lap of Arcadia.

From A Man and His Money by Isham, Frederic Stewart

His was not the temperament of the lotus-eater.

From A Vanished Hand by Doudney, Sarah

Diana, have you really performed suttee, have you buried yourself alive in this sweet spot deliberately, or has the love of retirement grown upon you, and have you become a kind of lotus-eater?'

From Phantom Fortune, a Novel by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)