Lethes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A river in Greek mythology associated with forgetfulness and oblivion, where the dead drank to forget their earthly lives
2. A mythological stream whose waters induced forgetfulness in those who drank, part of the underworld's rivers
3. In classical lore, a river symbolizing forgetfulness, believed to erase memories of past lives for the souls of the deceased

Etymology: "Lethes" is simply the plural of "lethe," so the substance lies in the noun it pluralises. In Greek, "Lēthē" meant "forgetfulness," and the river took its name from that sense: in myth, souls drinking from it in the underworld lost their memories before being reborn. The name is a plain abstract noun, and the mythic river was built around it rather than the other way round. English borrowed the word from Latin "Lēthē," which was itself taken from the Greek. Latin "lētum," meaning "killing" or "death," may have shaped the Latin form, since the river was linked with the realm of the dead, so the two words could easily blur together in the minds of Latin speakers. Such influence is a possibility rather than a settled fact, and the Greek meaning remains the firm starting point.