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Definition of desdemona

desdemona

/ˌdɛz.dəˈmoʊ.nə/
Des · de · mo · na
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desdemona Lexical Profile

• noun

1

A central tragic character in William Shakespeare's play 'Othello', the devoted Venetian wife of Othello who is falsely accused of infidelity and murdered by her husband.

Example

"The actress delivered a deeply moving performance as Desdemona in the theater company's new production of 'Othello'."

2

An inner satellite (moon) of the planet Uranus, discovered in 1986 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and named after the Shakespearean heroine.

Example

"Astronomers observed the orbital resonance between Desdemona and neighboring inner moons of Uranus."

• Rhymes for desdemona

• Nearby Words

descriptively
descriptiveness
descriptor
desdemona
deseado
desecrate
desecration

Word Origin & Etymology

Borrowed from Italian Disdemona, a character name in Giovanni Battista Giraldi's 1565 tale 'Un Capitano Moro', derived from Ancient Greek dysdaimōn ('ill-starred' or 'unfortunate'), popularized in English by William Shakespeare's tragedy 'Othello'.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Desdemona. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/desdemona
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