Scylla

[ sil-uh ]

/ ˈsɪl ə /

noun

Modern name Scilla. a rock in the Strait of Messina off the S coast of Italy.

Classical Mythology. a sea nymph who was transformed into a sea monster: later identified with the rock Scylla.Compare Charybdis(def 2).

Idioms

between Scylla and Charybdis, between two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which can be passed without encountering and probably falling victim to the other.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for scylla

Thus, they say, it was that Plato came to sail a third time into the straits of Scylla.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume IV|Aubrey Stewart
Scylla cast herself into the sea, and was transformed at the same moment into a lark.
The Student's Mythology|Catherine Ann White
This prophecy is fulfilled by Endymion, who aids in restoring Glaucus to youth, and Scylla and the drowned lovers to life.
The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art (2nd ed.) (1911)|Charles Mills Gayley
Scylla could seldom visit the ranch, for she was an invalid.
Southern Stories|Various

But this was plunging from Scylla into Charybdis, for it inferred that the Stuarts inherited the heavenly-gifted touch by descent.
Calamities and Quarrels of Authors|Isaac Disraeli

British Dictionary definitions for scylla

Scylla

/ (ˈsɪlə) /

noun

Greek myth a sea nymph transformed into a sea monster believed to drown sailors navigating the Strait of Messina. She was identified with a rock off the Italian coastCompare Charybdis

between Scylla and Charybdis in a predicament in which avoidance of either of two dangers means exposure to the other

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

Word Origin and History for scylla

Scylla

sea-monster in the Strait of Messina, from Latinized form of Greek Skylla, of unknown origin, perhaps related to skyllein "to tear."

Idioms and Phrases with scylla

Scylla

see between a rock and a hard place (Scylla and Charybdis).