Cir·ce

(sûr′sē)

n. Greek Mythology

A goddess who turned Odysseus's men temporarily into swine but later gave him directions for their journey home.

Cir′ce·an (sûr′sē-ən, sər-sē′ən) adj.

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.

Circe

(ˈsɜːsɪ)

(Classical Myth & Legend) Greek myth an enchantress who detained Odysseus on her island and turned his men into swine

Circean adj

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

Cir•ce

(ˈsɜr si)

n.

an enchantress of Greek myth who turned Odysseus' companions into swine.

Cir•ce•an (sərˈsi ən) adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Circe - (Greek mythology) a sorceress who detained Odysseus on her island and turned his men into swine

Greek mythology - the mythology of the ancient Greeks

sorceress - a woman sorcerer

Translations

Circe

[ˈsɜːsɪ] n → Circe f

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The wicked enchantress (whose name is Circe, the sister of King Aetes) dwells in the marble palace which you see yonder among the trees.

View in context

Out of the high heaven is she summoned, from mystic communion with her own perfection, from majestic labours in the Sistine Chapel of the Stars,--yea, she must put aside her gold-leaf and purples and leave unfinished the very panels of the throne of God,--that Circe shall have her palace, and her worshippers their gilded sty.

View in context

It told of the adventures of Odysseus in Thesprotis after the killing of the Suitors, of his return to Ithaca, and his death at the hands of Telegonis, his son by Circe. The epic ended by disposing of the surviving personages in a double marriage, Telemachus wedding Circe, and Telegonus Penelope.

View in context

You are to play the Circe up to date, and I am to be beguiled.

View in context

For my own part, I must confess, so compassionate is my temper, I wish Polypheme had confined himself to his milk diet, and preserved his eye; nor could Ulysses be much more concerned than myself, when his companions were turned into swine by Circe, who showed, I think, afterwards, too much regard for man's flesh to be supposed capable of converting it into bacon.

View in context

Now both Circe and Psyche peeped from her brightened eyes.

View in context

He and George had often laughed over it subsequently, and until a few weeks after George's marriage, when he also was caught in the little Circe's toils, and had an understanding with her which his comrade certainly suspected, but preferred to ignore.

View in context

D'Artagnan was again in the presence of the Circe who had before surrounded him with her enchantments.

View in context

When Ulysses heard this he put the lid on the chest and made it fast with a bond that Circe had taught him.

View in context

Great dangers undoubtedly accrue from this incarnation and distribution of the godhead, and hence Nature has her maligners, as if she were Circe; and Alphonso of Castille fancied he could have given useful advice.

View in context

He felt a loathing for them such as Circe must have felt for her swine.

View in context

Wolf Larsen it was, always Wolf Larsen, enslaver and tormentor of men, a male Circe and these his swine, suffering brutes that grovelled before him and revolted only in drunkenness and in secrecy.

View in context