Ouroboros

American  

[oor-uh-bur-uhs, oor-oh-bawr-uhs, yoor-] / ˌur əˈbɜr əs, ˌur oʊˈbɔr əs, ˌyʊər- /

Also Uroboros, or ouroboros

noun

1. a representation of a snake or dragon eating its own tail, originating in Ancient Egyptian and Greek iconography and used as a symbolic representation of wholeness, eternity, or death and rebirth.

2. anything that resembles or calls to mind a snake or dragon eating its own tail.

   The arguments and debate about transcendence can all too easily become an Ouroboros of circular logic.

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Etymology

Origin of Ouroboros

First recorded in 1920–25; from Greek ourobóros (drákōn) “tail-devouring (snake),” from our(á) “tail” + -o- ( def. ) + -bóros (noun derivative of bibrṓskein “to devour”); dragon ( def. )

Example Sentences

By Ke Huy Quan’s account, his starring role as Ouroboros in Season 2 of ‘Loki,’ his MCU debut, was the realization of a dream and the cap to a year filled with triumph.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2024

Guiding his efforts in this second season, along with Owen Wilson’s Mobius, is Ke Huy Quan’s Ouroboros, the nerdy brainiac running the TVA’s Repairs and Advancement Department.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2023

Ouroboros have their own skill trees and abilities, and they even have a second form you can trigger, but, like with everything else in this game, it’s underexplained.

From The Verge • Jul. 26, 2022

In his group Ouroboros, he plays in a front line alongside Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet and Maria Grand on tenor saxophone.

From New York Times • Oct. 15, 2015

“The alchemical worm Ouroboros of ancient myth. Its teeth are sunk in its tail.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson