Phlegethon
Americannoun
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Also called Pyriphlegethon. Classical Mythology. a river of fire, one of five rivers surrounding Hades.
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(often lowercase) a stream of fire or fiery light.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Phlegethon
First recorded in 1350–1400; late Middle English, from Latin, from Greek phlegéthōn “blazing, flaming,” noun use of present participle of phlegéthein “to blaze”; see origin at phlegm
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.
Their tattered clothes steamed from the heat of the river, but they kept going until they crumpled to their knees at the banks of the Phlegethon.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
To their right, the Phlegethon split into branches that etched the plain, widening into a delta of smoke and fire.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Drinking from the Phlegethon was like gulping down a ghost chili smoothie.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
The Phlegethon flowed in the same direction until about halfway across the plain, where it met another river of black water—maybe the Cocytus?
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
“The Phlegethon keeps the wicked in one piece so that they can endure the torments of the Fields of Punishment. I think...it might be the Underworld equivalent of ambrosia and nectar.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
