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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

Charybdis en · PROPN

Pronunciation

  • /kəˈɹɪbdɪs/
  • (US) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Χάρυβδις (Khárubdis).

Meanings

  1. A dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Sicily opposite Scylla on the Italian coast.
    • I have never yet been able to steer my lovers through the Scylla of presence, or the Charybdis of absence. 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XII. Lady Marchmont’s Journal.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 85:
  2. (Greek) A personification of the above whirlpool as a female monster.
  3. Any dangerous whirlpool.
    • …that night, wee ſailed merrily by the Maſcarenas, a Charybdis in 21 degrees, var.13 and 17 minutes… 1638, Sir Thomas Herbert, Some yeares travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique:
    • Lo! the wave that for ever devours the wave / Casts roaringly up the charybdis again… 1842 Schiller, Friedrich poem Der Taucher (written in 1797) published in English in Blackwood's Magazine volume 52
    • The tide here sets in alternately from N. to S. and from S. to N., which causes the whirlpool of Galofaro, the Charybdis of the ancients. 1832, James Bell, A system of geography, popular and scientific:

Deriveds

between Scylla and Charybdis · Charybdian · charybdotoxin

Relateds

Scylla

Translations (23)

el Χάρυβδις (Greek mythological monster) · fr Charybde (Greek mythological monster) · sw Kharibdi (Greek mythological monster) · la Charybdis (Greek mythological monster) · iu ᖃᕆᑉᑎᔅ (Greek mythological monster) · fi Kharybdis (Greek mythological monster) · de Charybdis (Greek mythological monster) · el Χάρυβδη (Greek mythological monster) · cs Charybda (Greek mythological monster) · ja カリュブディス (Greek mythological monster) · uk Харі́бда (Greek mythological monster) · da Charybdis (Greek mythological monster) · it Cariddi (Greek mythological monster) · ru Хари́бда (Greek mythological monster) · pl Charybda (Greek mythological monster) · grc Χάρυβδις (Greek mythological monster) · hy Քարիբդա (Greek mythological monster) · hu Kharübdisz (Greek mythological monster) · kl Karybdis (Greek mythological monster) · pt Caríbdis (Greek mythological monster) · ko 카리브디스 (Greek mythological monster) · tr Haribdis (Greek mythological monster) · es Caribdis (Greek mythological monster)