phoenix

¹

Also phe·nix

[fee-niks]

noun

genitive

Phoenicis 

1. Sometimes Phoenix a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope.

2. (initial capital letter),  a southern constellation between Hydrus and Sculptor.

3. a person or thing of peerless beauty or excellence; paragon.

4. a person or thing that has become renewed or restored after suffering calamity or apparent annihilation.

Phoenix

²

[fee-niks]

noun

1. Classical Mythology.

   1. the brother of Cadmus and Europa, and eponymous ancestor of the Phoenicians.

   2. a son of Amyntor and Cleobule who became the foster father of Achilles and who fought with the Greek forces in the Trojan War.

2. a city in and the capital of Arizona, in the central part.

3. Military.,  a 13-foot (4-meter), 989-pound (445-kilogram) U.S. Navy air-to-air missile with radar guidance and a range of over 120 nautical miles.

phoenix

¹

/ ˈfiːnɪks /

noun

1. a legendary Arabian bird said to set fire to itself and rise anew from the ashes every 500 years

2. a person or thing of surpassing beauty or quality

Phoenix

²

/ ˈfiːnɪks /

noun

1. a constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Grus and Eridanus

Phoenix

³

/ ˈfiːnɪks /

noun

1. a city in central Arizona, capital city of the state, on the Salt River. Pop: 1 388 416 (2003 est)

Phoenix

¹

1. Capital city of Arizona.

phoenix

²

1. A mythical bird that periodically burned itself to death and emerged from the ashes as a new phoenix. According to most stories, the rebirth of the phoenix happened every five hundred years. Only one phoenix lived at a time.

To “rise like a phoenix from the ashes” is to overcome a seemingly insurmountable setback.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Phoenix¹

First recorded before 900; from Latin, from Greek phoînix “a mythical bird, purple-red color,” Phoenician, “date palm”; replacing Middle English, Old English fēnix, from Medieval Latin; Latin as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of Phoenix¹

Old English fenix, via Latin from Greek phoinix; identical in form with Greek Phoinix Phoenician, purple

Example Sentences

A political phoenix, Netanyahu is the country's longest-serving prime minister, has been its dominant political figure for decades and heads one of the most right-wing coalitions in Israel's history.

Read more on Barron's

“I’m at a place now where I feel like, in a way, it’s sort of a phoenix situation,” Hollis said about his post-fire rise from the ashes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Nine months after the destruction, the club was ready for its phoenix moment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"He's come back and returned, rising from the ashes, the Jamaican phoenix."

Read more on BBC

But the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Trust, who paid around £2,500 for the plane and stadium banner, are not waiting around, with plans for a phoenix club already in the works.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• behemoth 
• freak 
• giant 
• whale