Paphian
Americanadjective
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of or relating to Paphos, an ancient city of Cyprus sacred to Aphrodite.
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of or relating to love, especially illicit sexual love; erotic; wanton.
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noting or pertaining to Aphrodite or to her worship or service.
noun
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the Paphian, Aphrodite: so called from her cult center at Paphos.
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(often lowercase) a prostitute.
adjective
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of or relating to Paphos
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of or relating to Aphrodite
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literary of sexual love
Etymology
Origin of Paphian
1605–15; < Latin Paphi ( us ) (< Greek Páphios of Paphos, of Aphrodite) + -an
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.
You will when she who's guilty And this enamoured Paphian are fled!
From Yolanda of Cyprus by Rice, Cale Young
Those pearls of Oman which Corydon designs for Amaryllis would not have adorned so noble a woman had they circled the neck of the Paphian Venus or Helen of Troy.
From From the Easy Chair — Volume 01 by Curtis, George William
An uncle of his possessed an Aphrodite in Paphian marble which had been dug up in a vineyard at Luna, and a work of great beauty of the second period of Greek art.
From A House-Party Don Gesualdo and A Rainy June by Ouida
Would you worship the Paphian goddess, the groves of Cyprus are not more taciturn than those of the Temple.
From The Warden by Trollope, Anthony
Hail to the peddling pessimistic brood Whose "nimini-pimimi" mouths, too small by half To stretch themselves to a Homeric laugh, Mince, in a mirror, to the "Paphian Mimp!"
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 104, February 4, 1893 by Burnand, F. C. (Francis Cowley), Sir
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.
