Definition of Pygmalion

1. Noun. (Greek mythology) a king who created a statue of a woman and fell in love with it; Aphrodite brought the sculpture to life as Galatea.

Category relationships: Greek Mythology
Generic synonyms: Mythical Being

Definition of Pygmalion

1. Noun. One who acts as the legendary Greek sculptor Pygmalion (who was granted the wish of having life given to a sculpture of his which he loved a great deal), as in George Bernard Shaw's ''Pygmalion'' in which he sometimes refers to his main character (Henry Higgins) as Pygmalion Higgins. ¹

2. Adjective. Bloody (only in 'not pygmalion likely'), from the sensational, and then scandalous, line 'not bloody likely' in George Bernard Shaw's play ''Pygmalion''. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Pygmalion

pyengadu
pyengadus
pyes
pyet
pyets
pygal
pygals
pygarg
pygargs
pygargus
pygidia
pygidial
pygidium
pygidiums
pygmaean
pygmalion (current term)
pygmalions
pygmean
pygmies
pygmoid
pygmy
pygmy chimpanzee
pygmy chimpanzees
pygmy cypress
pygmy giant panda
pygmy hippopotamus
pygmy marmoset
pygmy mouse

Literary usage of Pygmalion

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Age of Fable; Or, Stories of Gods and Heroes by Thomas Bulfinch (1856)
"pygmalion. CHAPTER VIII. pygmalion — DRYOPE — VENUS AND ADONIS — APOLLO AND ... pygmalion saw so much wickedness in women that he came at last to abhor the ..."

2. The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper: Including the Series by Samuel Johnson (1810)
"pygmalion AND THE STATUE. FROM THE TENTH BOOK OP OVID'S METAMORPHOSES. ... pygmalion, loathing their lascivious life, Abhorr'd all womankind, ..."

3. The Critical Review, Or, Annals of Literature by Tobias George Smollett (1779)
"The (lory of pygmalion, as related by Ovid, is to this pur- ... gives it life ; and pygmalion marries his newly ..."

4. The Poetical Works of John Dryden by John Dryden (1909)
"pygmalion, loathing their lascivious life, Abhorr'd all womankind, ... 60 pygmalion, off'ring, first approach'd the shrine, And then with pray'rs implor'd ..."

5. Original Plays by William Schwenck Gilbert (1876)
"pygmalion AND GALATEA. ACT I. SCENE: pygmalion'S STUDIO. ... And has pygmalion slaves ! A sculptor with a slave to wait, on him : A slave to fetch and carry ..."

6. Ovid by Ovid (1833)
"pygmalion, a^celebrated artist, becomes enamored of a beautiful statue of marble ... pygmalion, loathing their lascivious life, Abhorr'd all womankind, ..."

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