Actaeon
Meanings
name
- Grandson of Cadmus, transformed into a stag by Artemis in book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
noun
- A cuckold.
verb
- To cuckold.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Latin Actaeōn, from Ancient Greek Ἀκταίων (Aktaíōn). In Greek mythology, Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag with horns on his head. In European folklore, horns were considered the sign of a cuckold, whence the noun sense of Actaeon, "cuckold", and the verb sense "to cuckold", are derived. Compare horned, put horns on, etc.
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