Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The male generative power or function personified as a deity: originally an epithet or cognomen of Bacchus, then a personification of the phallus.
- noun [lowercase] A symbol or representation of the male generative organ; a phallus.
- noun [lowercase] The male genitals; the virile organ in the state of erection.
- noun [l. c] In medieval warfare, some kind of projecting machine, probably an early form of cannon.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun Greek mythology The son of
Aphrodite andDionysus ,god ofprocreation , andguardian ofgardens andvineyards ;personification of thephallus .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (classical mythology) god of male procreative power and guardian of gardens and vineyards
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When he came for the watchword, the latter would give "Priapus," or "Venus;" and if on any occasion he returned thanks, would offer him his hand to kiss, making with his fingers an obscene gesture.
The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 04: Caligula Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
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When he came for the watchword, the latter would give "Priapus," or "Venus;" and if on any occasion he returned thanks, would offer him his hand to kiss, making with his fingers an obscene gesture.
De vita Caesarum Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
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Life of Camillus, ch. 37, note.] [Footnote 364: Artemis was so called from a town Priapus, which is on the south coast of the Propontis, and is placed in the maps a little west of the outlet of the Granikus.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume II 46-120? Plutarch 1839
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Scouts reported to Alexander that the citizens of Priapus were willing to surrender the town to him, allowing the grateful king his first opportunity to liberate a Greek city, however insignificant it might be.
Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011
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Scouts reported to Alexander that the citizens of Priapus were willing to surrender the town to him, allowing the grateful king his first opportunity to liberate a Greek city, however insignificant it might be.
Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011
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Her particular mix goes beyond the vast documentation of Williams's life and work and includes the art films of Ryan Trecartin and Warhol collaborator Paul Morrissey , as well as Chinese Opera, porn, travel to New Orleans and the Greek fertility God, Priapus, whose iconic feature was an oversize, and permanent, erection.
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Scouts reported to Alexander that the citizens of Priapus were willing to surrender the town to him, allowing the grateful king his first opportunity to liberate a Greek city, however insignificant it might be.
Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011
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Her arms and legs wound around the trunk, her incandescent forehead pressed against the ancient idol, this offshoot of Roman Priapus that had escaped being daubed in cinnabar by womenfolk.
A Different Stripe: 2008
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Kakutani on A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years by John Richardson: "As John Richardson reminds us in the third installment of his magisterial and definitive biography, Picasso not only worshiped the gods Dionysius, Priapus and Mithra (the god of light and wisdom), but also regarded himself as their confrère — an artist so prodigally talented, so daring and so virtuosic that he could reinvent the universe."
An Amazon.com Books Blog featuring news, reviews, interviews and guest author blogs. 2008
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Her arms and legs wound around the trunk, her incandescent forehead pressed against the ancient idol, this offshoot of Roman Priapus that had escaped being daubed in cinnabar by womenfolk.
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