Thersites

American  

[ther-sahy-teez] / θərˈsaɪ tiz /

noun

1. (in theIliad ) a Greek who accused Agamemnon of greed and Achilles of cowardice during the Trojan War.

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Thersites British  

/ θəˈsaɪtiːz /

noun

1. the ugliest and most evil-tongued fighter on the Greek side in the Trojan War, killed by Achilles when he mocked him

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Example Sentences

Impossible to imagine Lear’s Fool succeeding him or Thersites commanding the Greek army.

From The Guardian • Feb. 9, 2017

The “scabrous” Thersites in Troilus and Cressida speaks with relentless, scene-stealing venom.

From The Guardian • Feb. 9, 2017

Shakespeare did no more than Homer to explain Thersites, to give him either a backstory or a motive.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 9, 2016

In Troilus and Cressida, the strangely comic character Thersites announces Ajax by saying “for, whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax.”

From Time • Sep. 20, 2013

Bagantoff is no more! it quite reminds one of the great poet: “Great Patroclus is no more, Mean Thersites liveth yet!” —and so on,—don't you know!”

From Uncle's dream; And The Permanent Husband by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor