A | B |
arachnid | (origin: from Arachne, Greek maiden who was turned into a spider by Athena after challenging her to a weaving contest) |
cereal | (origin: from Ceres, Roman Goddess of the Harvest; Greek counterpart: Demeter) |
cerebral | (origin: from Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the underworld; one head could see the past, the second the present, and the third the future) |
cloth | (origin: from Clotho, one of the Greek Fates who spun the thread of life) |
echo | (origin: from the Greek nymph named Echo, who was punished by Hera so that she could only repeat the last few words of what others would say) |
electricity | (origin: from Elecktra, a passionate Greek woman, who had eyes the color of amber, which when rubbed with silk, an electrical charge results; also associated with storm clouds) |
Herculean | (origin: from Hercules, demigod with excessive strength, who was fathered by Zeus; Greek counterpart: Heracles, named after Hera, Zeus' wife) |
hygiene | (origin: from Hygeia, Greek Goddess of Health) |
hypnosis | (origin: from Hypnos, Greek God of Sleep) |
iridescent | (origin: from Iris, Greek Goddess of Rainbows) |
jovial | (origin: from Jove, Roman God of the Sky; Greek counterpart: Zeus) |
lunatic | (origin: from Luna, Roman Goddess of the Moon; Greek counterpart: Artemis) |
mercurial | (origin: from Mercury, Messenger of the Gods/God of Travelers; Greek counterpart: Hermes) |
narcissistic | (origin: from Narcissus, a Greek man who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water and became a flower) |
nemesis | (origin: from Nemesis, Greek Goddess of Revenge) |
panic | (origin: from Pan, Greek God of Shepherds and Flocks, said to instill great fear in anyone who accidentally ran into him or heard his loud shouting and singing) |
phoenix | (origin: mythical bird that never dies; sprang from ashes) |
rumor | (origin: from Pheme, Greek Goddess of Rumor/Fame; Messenger of Zeus) |
saturnine | (origin: from Saturn, Roman God of Time, Greek counterpart: Chronos) |
somnambulate | (origin: from Somnus, Roman God of Sleep) |
tantalize | (origin: from Tantalus, a Greek demigod, who was eternally punished in the underworld by being in a pool of water he couldn't drink and having fruit above his head that he couldn't eat) |
thespian | (origin: from Thespis, the first Greek actor who introduced the tragedy in drama) |
titanic | (origin: from the Greek Titans, who were giants who ruled before the Olympian gods) |
volcano | (origin: from Vulcan, Roman God of Fire; Greek counterpart: Hephaestus) |
stentorian | (origin: from Stentor from the Illiad, a messenger/herald who was said to have the voice of fifty men) |