Adonis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A figure from mythology known for extraordinary beauty, often used to symbolize youthful attractiveness
2. A handsome youth in Greek mythology, celebrated for his looks and associated with love and desire
3. An archetype of male beauty in ancient tales, embodying both charm and allure in romantic contexts

Etymology: Adonis was a beautiful youth in Greek myth, loved by Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) and killed by a wild boar, and his name became shorthand for male beauty. The myth itself is much older than English: the name is generally traced to a Semitic title meaning "lord," close to the Phoenician or Hebrew word for master, which Greeks borrowed and turned into a personal name. Ancient ritual mourning for the dying god, the Adonia festivals, spread his story across the Mediterranean. In English the name came to mean a handsome young man only through literary use. Its sense as a common noun for a strikingly good-looking man developed from the mythological figure, so a person who looks like Adonis is being compared directly to that ancient beloved of the goddess.