tantalus

Meanings

1. A stork of the genus Mycteria (formerly Tantalus), especially the American wood stork, Mycteria americana.
2. A stand in which to lock up drink decanters while keeping them visible.
3. Something of an evasive or retreating nature, something consistently out of reach; a tantalising thing.

1. A Phrygian king who was condemned to remain in Tartarus, chin-deep in water, with fruit-laden branches hanging above his head; whenever he tried to drink or eat, the water and fruit receded out of reach.

Etymology

From Latin Tantalus, from Ancient Greek Τάνταλος (Tántalos, “Tantalus”), a Phrygian king in Greek mythology who was condemned to stand in a pool of water which receded every time he tried to drink, and with overhanging branches of fruit which pulled back whenever he tried to eat. Doublet of Tantalus.