Myrmidon
Americannoun
plural
Myrmidons, Myrmidones-
Classical Mythology. one of the warlike people of ancient Thessaly who accompanied Achilles to the Trojan War.
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(lowercase) a person who executes without question or scruple a master's commands.
noun
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Greek myth one of a race of people whom Zeus made from a nest of ants. They settled in Thessaly and were led against Troy by Achilles
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(often not capital) a follower or henchman
Etymology
Origin of Myrmidon
Middle English, from Latin Myrmidones (plural), from Greek Myrmidónes; Myrmidon def. 1 first recorded in 1425-75, and Myrmidon def. 2 first recorded in 1625-50
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.
So Patroclus put on the splendid armor all the Trojans knew and feared, and led the Myrmidons, Achilles’ men, to the battle.
From Literature
He served on board MV Myrmidon, part of the task force dispatched to liberate the Falkland Islands after the Argentinean invasion in 1982.
From BBC
Grassy knolls teemed with minotaurs, cyborgs, warlocks, Myrmidons, figures clothed only in metallic body paint or Pan-like ivy tendrils.
From New York Times
For years they'd been repelling Myrmidons while listening to their leaders tell them to just sit it out and eventually the Greeks would go away.
From BBC
Yet, the longlisting of Eng's previous book five years ago led to Myrmidon starting to be taken seriously as a force to be reckoned with.
From The Guardian
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
