Tantalus
pronunciation
How to pronounce Tantalus in British English:
UK 
How to pronounce Tantalus in American English:
US
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- Noun:
- (Greek mythology) a wicked king and son of Zeus; condemned in Hades to stand in water that receded when he tried to drink and beneath fruit that receded when he reached for it
Word Origin
- Tantalus
- Greek Tantalos, king of Phrygia, perhaps literally "the Bearer" or "the Sufferer," by dissimilation from *tal-talos, a reduplication of PIE root *tele- "to bear, carry, support" (see extol), in reference to his long endurance, but Watkins finds this "unlikely." Compare tantalize.
Example
- 1. How do I get to tantalus ?
- 2. Tantalus was the rich and mighty king of lydia .