English Explanatory Dictionary

Avernus

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. The entrance to Hell or the underworld, or the underworld itself.
  2. A lake in Southern Italy.

Word forms

Avernus

Etymology

From Latin Avernus, from Ancient Greek ἄορνος (áornos), ἄϝορνος (áwornos, “birdless”), from ἀ- (a-, “without”) + ὄρνις (órnis, “bird”). The lack of birds was likely due to fatal gases like carbon dioxide seeping from the volcanically active lake.

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