Ozymandias en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˌɒziˈmændiəs/
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ὀσυμανδύας (Osumandúas), from Demotic Egyptian wsr-mꜣꜥ.t-rꜥ, smn-rꜥ, ns-mn-rꜥ, from Egyptian wsr-mꜣꜥt-rꜥ, the first part of the throne name of pharaoh Ramesses II. Modern usage derives from the poem Ozymandias, about a proud king whose empire and memory have long since crumbled into obscurity, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and inspired by Diodorus Siculus's description of a colossal statue in the Ramesseum.
Meanings
-
A person once famous and respected who has since been utterly forgotten.
2013, Will Self, quoted in The Guardian: "Falling short: seven writers reflect on failure" https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/22/falling-short-writers-reflect-failure An unavoidable sequel of the posterity delusion is the death of the writerly self, which depends too much on incoherence and inconsistency to remain pompous for long. And of course, the vast majority of today's mummified immortals are tomorrow's Ozymandiases.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ozymandiases | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
wikipedia: Ramesseum · wikipedia: Ozymandias · wikipedia: Diodorus Siculus · wikipedia: Percy Bysshe Shelley · wikipedia: Ramesses II