English
Sisyphus
Sisyphus comes from Ancient Greek Σίσυφος.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΣίσυφοςSísuphos
- Englishearliest quotation 1837Sisyphus
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΣίσυφοςSísuphos
- Englishearliest quotation 1837Sisyphus
Earliest quotation: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, A Proposal of Marriage: “Indeed, I have looked upon the fable of Sisyphus…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek σοφός ‘wise’
Today it means
name Son of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Ephyra, as tragic figure doomed eternally to roll a boulder up a hill in Tartarus, a part of Hades.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek Σίσυφος / Sisyphus