Gender Masculine
Usage Greek Mythology
Scripts Ἄδωνις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. /á.dɔː.nis/(Classical Greek) /ə.ˈdɑn.ɪs/(American English) /ə.ˈdɒn.ɪs/(British English) /ə.ˈdoʊ.nɪs/(English) [key·simplify]
Meaning & History
From Phoenician 𐤀𐤃𐤍 (ʾadon) meaning "lord, master". In Greek myth Adonis was a handsome young shepherd killed while hunting a wild boar. The anemone flower is said to have sprung from his blood. Because he was loved by Aphrodite, Zeus allowed him to be restored to life for part of each year. The Greeks borrowed this character from Semitic traditions, originally Sumerian (see Dumuzi).