Oedipus
pronunciation
How to pronounce Oedipus in British English:
UK [ˈi:dipəs,ˈedipəs]
How to pronounce Oedipus in American English:
US [ˈɛdəpəs, ˈidə-]
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- Noun:
- (Greek mythology) a tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta; the subject of the drama `Oedipus Rex' by Sophocles
Word Origin
- Oedipus
- son of Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, Greek, literally "swollen-foot," from oidan "to swell" (from PIE *oid-; see edema) + pous (genitive podos) "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Oedipus complex (1910) coined by Freud. In Latin, figurative references to Oedipus generally referred to solving riddles. Oedipus effect (1957) is Karl Popper's term for "the self-fulfilling nature of prophecies or predictions."
Example
- 1. Oedipus the king by sophocles ( download pdf )
- 2. The oedipus complex is a myth ; boys do not hate their fathers because they would like to have sex with their mothers .
- 3. We have indicated that there are problems with the oedipus complex as an explanation .
- 4. Freud , meanwhile , believed that the nuclear family was universal , and that the " primeval family , " riven by the oedipus complex , had been even more repressive than haute-bourgeois vienna .