At·ro·pos

(ăt′rə-pŏs′, -pəs)

n. Greek Mythology

One of the three Fates, the cutter of the thread of destiny.

[Greek, from atropos, inexorable : a-, not; see a-¹ + tropos, changeable; see -tropous.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Atropos

(ˈætrəˌpɒs)

(Classical Myth & Legend) Greek myth the one of the three Fates who severs the thread of life

[Greek, from atropos that may not be turned, from a-¹ + -tropos from trepein to turn]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

At•ro•pos

(ˈæ trəˌpɒs)

n.

the Fate who cuts the thread of life.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Atropos - the Greek goddess of fate who cuts the thread of life

Moirae, Moirai - any of the three Greek goddesses of fate or destiny; identified with the Roman Parcae and similar to the Norse Norns

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The eight together form one harmony; and round about, at equal intervals, there is another band, three in number, each sitting upon her throne: these are the Fates, daughters of Necessity, who are clothed in white robes and have chaplets upon their heads, Lachesis and Clotho and Atropos, who accompany with their voices the harmony of the sirens-- Lachesis singing of the past, Clotho of the present, Atropos of the future; Clotho from time to time assisting with a touch of her right hand the revolution of the outer circle of the whorl or spindle, and Atropos with her left hand touching and guiding the inner ones, and Lachesis laying hold of either in turn, first with one hand and then with the other.

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Also she bare the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos (10), who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods: and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty.

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We have constructed a fate, an Atropos, that never turns aside.

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Van Helsing nodded to him as he whispered to me unconsciously, "The Acherontia Atropos of the Sphinges, what you call the `Death's-head Moth'?"

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In Greek mythology how are Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos better known?

General Knowledge Quiz

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