Phaëthon

[ fey-uh-thuhn, -thon ]

/ ˈfeɪ ə θən, -ˌθɒn /

Save This Word!

noun Classical Mythology.

a son of Helios who borrowed the chariot of the sun and drove it so close to earth that Zeus struck him down to save the world.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Phaëthon

<Greek Phaéthōn, special use of present participle of phaéthein to shine

Words nearby Phaëthon

Phaedra, Phaedrus, phaeic, Phaënna, Phaestus, Phaëthon, phaeton, phage, phagedaena, phagedena, -phagia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Phaëthon in a sentence

Sol had promised Phaethon, his son, to fulfil all his wishes.
Elements of Morals|Paul Janet
Phaethon is by some represented as the first king, who reigned in Chaonia, and Epirus.
A New System; or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology. Volume II. (of VI.)|Jacob Bryant
Helios had another son named Phaethon, whose mother was Clymene, one of the Oceanides.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome|E.M. Berens
Phaethon wished to get on the chariot of his father; he got his wish, but at the same instant he was struck with lightning.
Elements of Morals|Paul Janet

But Phaethon never rose from the cold waters of the river into which he had fallen.
Brooks's Readers, Third Year|Stratton D. Brooks

British Dictionary definitions for Phaëthon (1 of 2)

Phaethon

/ (ˈfeɪəθən) /

noun

an asteroid (6.9 km in diameter) that has an orbit approaching close to the sun and releases fragments of dust that enter the earth's atmosphere as meteors

British Dictionary definitions for Phaëthon (2 of 2)

Phaëthon

/ (ˈfeɪəθən) /

noun

Greek myth the son of Helios (the sun god) who borrowed his father's chariot and nearly set the earth on fire by approaching too close to it. Zeus averted the catastrophe by striking him down with a thunderbolt

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