Hippodameia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Greek myth, who became the wife of Pelops after he won her hand in a chariot race
2. In Greek mythology, the princess of Pisa whose marriage to Pelops followed his victory over her father in a chariot contest
3. A figure from Greek legend, the daughter of Oenomaus and the bride of Pelops, won through a dangerous race against her father

Etymology: Hippodameia is the name of several figures in Greek myth, most famously the daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa, whose father set a deadly condition on her hand: any suitor had to beat him in a chariot race, and those who lost were killed. The name is a compound of two Greek elements, "hippos" meaning "horse" and "damaein" or "damas," a form of the verb "to tame" or "to subdue," so the name translates roughly as "horse-tamer." That meaning fits the story neatly, since she was won by Pelops, who bribed Oenomaus's charioteer to loosen the linchpins of the king's chariot, sending the king to his death. Because the name is a Greek proper noun, English has borrowed it directly rather than through a long chain of transmission, and it appears in English texts as a classical name. The spelling given here, with a lowercase initial, is simply an alternative form of the same name, used when the capital letter is dropped.