Dictionary

ephebe en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ɪˈfiːb/
• /ˈɛfiːb/
• /ɛˈfiːb/

Etymology

Via Latin ephēbus, from Ancient Greek ἔφηβος (éphēbos, “adolescent”), from ἐπί (epí, “early”) + ἥβη (hḗbē, “manhood”), late 19th c.

Meanings

1. (historical) An 18- to 20-year-old man in ancient Greece undergoing military training.
2. (broadly) A young man; a youth.
   • Indeed Tom was much still the ephebe, sharing boys with his friend though talking of the gravity of marriage. 1993, Anthony Burgess, A Dead Man in Deptford:
   • His glance touched their faces lightly as he smiled, a blond ephebe. Tame essence of [Oscar] Wilde. 1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 9: Scylla and Charybdis]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 190:

Forms

Deriveds

ephebophilia · ephebic · ephebosexuality

Relateds

ephebos · ephebus