Dictionary

lethe en · NOUN · etymology 1

From Latin Lēthē, from Ancient Greek Λήθη (Lḗthē, “forgetfulness”).

(uncountable, usually) Forgetfulness of the past; oblivion.
- So in the Lethe of thy angry ſoule, Thou drowne the ſad remembrance of thoſe wrongs, Which thou ſuppoſest I haue done to thee. c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], page 197:
(uncountable, usually) Dissimulation.
- What does it mean to say that the stream of silence originates in lethe? It means, above all, that the stream has its source (Quelle) in that which has not yet been said and which must remain unsaid: the "unsaid." 1980, Joseph J. Kockelmans, On Heidegger and Language, Northwestern University Press, →ISBN, page 241:
- Till that the conquering Wine hath ſteep't our ſenſe, In ſoft and delicate Lethe. c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii], page 351:

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lethes	Number=Plur		lexicographic

Possibly influenced by Latin lētum (“killing”).

(obsolete, rare, uncountable, usually) Death.
- Pardon me Iulius, here was't thou bay'd braue Hart, Heere did'ſt thou fall, and heere thy Hunters ſtand Sign'd in thy Spoyle, and Crimſon'd in thy Lethee. 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 120, line 219:

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
lethes	Number=Plur		lexicographic