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Ogygian

adjective
  1. of very great age; prehistoric
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Word Origin

C19: from Greek ōgugios relating to Ogyges, the most ancient king of Greece, mythical ruler of Boeotia or Attica
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

Examples from the Web for ogygian

Historical Examples

  • The Ogygian Islands are not far distant from the haven of Sammalo.

    Gargantua and Pantagruel, Complete.

    Francois Rabelais

  • It must be remembered that it was the Ogygian deluge which was said to have been partial and to have inundated Attica.

    Tradition

    John Francis Arundell

  • Whenever Athens, or any other Greek city, is spoken of with any peculiar reverence, it is called “Ogygian.”

  • More sad and more despairing than Ulysses on the Ogygian shore, he too wasted away with home-sickness.

    Cord and Creese

    James de Mille

Word Origin and History for ogygian

Ogygian

adj.

1843, "of great antiquity or age," from Greek Ogygos, name of a mythical Attic or Boeotian king who even in classical times was thought to have lived very long ago. Also sometimes with reference to a famous flood said to have occurred in his day.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper