Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
phenix . - noun In anc. Oriental myth., a wonderful bird of great beauty, which, after living 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, the only one of its kind, built for itself a funeral pile of spices and aromatic gums, lighted the pile with the fanning of its wings, and was burned upon it, but from its ashes revived in the freshness of youth.
- noun A person of unique excellence; one of singular distinction or peerless beauty; a paragon.
- noun In entomology, the geometrid moth Cidaria ribesiaria, whose larva feeds on the currant and gooseberry: a collectors' name in England. The small phenix is
- noun A genus of palms, constituting the tribe Phœniceæ, characterized by the three distinct carpels (only one of which matures), containing a single erect cylindrical seed with a deep longitudinal groove, and having the embryo near the base or on the back.
- noun A silver coin of modern Greece, struck in 1828 by President Capo d' Istria. Its value is rather less than that of a lira.
- noun A southern constellation formed by Theo-dori below Cetus (though the Sculptor now intervenes). It is bounded by Eridanus on the west, by Toucan on the south, and by Eridanus on the east. Its brightest star is of magnitude 2½.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Same as
phenix . - noun (Bot.) A genus of palms including the date tree.
- noun (Gr. Myth.) A bird fabled to exist single, to be consumed by fire by its own act, and to rise again from its ashes. Hence, an emblem of immortality.
- noun (Astron.) A southern constellation.
- noun rare A marvelous person or thing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Archaic spelling of
phoenix .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word phenix.
Examples
-
I think she should forget about Harry and do a prequal series about the orginal order of the phenix and voldemorts rise to power
JK Rowling: That Unauthorised Harry Potter Book Is ‘Theft’ 2008
-
The most frequently cited example in these discussions in the thirteenth century was the sophisma omnis phenix est (˜Every phoenix is™).
Peter of Spain Spruyt, Joke 2007
-
From these seeds in springtime, as out of the ashes of the phenix, will come forth living things, stalks bearing fruits, "earth's treasures."
A Literary History of the English People From the Origins to the Renaissance Jean Jules Jusserand
-
In the land of the phenix there is neither rain, nor cold, nor too great heat, nor steep mountains, nor wild dales; there are no cares, and no sorrows.
A Literary History of the English People From the Origins to the Renaissance Jean Jules Jusserand
-
Not that mirth and folly are in any degree synonymous, as of old; for the merry fool, too scarce, alas! even in the times when Jacke of Dover hunted for him in the highways, has since then grown to be rarer than a phenix.
Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor Thomas L. Masson 1900
-
Without a blush she seeks a phenix guest [a bachelor]
Stories by English Authors: The Orient (Selected by Scribners) Mary [Contributor] Beaumont 1900
-
When her children in exile, like the despised man of Galilee, will find no continual habitation, when they shall have been convinced of the love of a mother and shall return home, Africa, phenix-like, will arise from her long slumber and become the scene of indescribable glory and power.
Africa and African Methodism. Alfred Lee Ridgel 1896
-
And the woman he had loved for an hour with youthful passion, and had dared to dream of casting aside in boyish insolence, had risen like a phenix and soared high and triumphant to the very sun itself.
A Lady of Quality 1896
-
He is said "to have been a thirteen-months 'child, to have had the dragon face and the phenix eye, an enormous chest, large ears, and a voice like the tone of the largest bell."
China Demetrius Charles Boulger 1890
-
More invention there may be in the late Hugh Conway's tale and in Mr. Haggard's startling narrative of the phenix-female; but it is invention that we discover in their strange stories rather than imagination.
Inquiries and Opinions Brander Matthews 1890
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.