pandora
pandora Lexical Profile
pandora Game Scores & Validity
• noun
(Usually capitalized) In Greek mythology, the first mortal woman created by the gods, who out of curiosity opened a forbidden jar or box that released all evils and hardships into the world, leaving only hope inside.
"In classical literature, the myth of Pandora serves as an allegory for the unintended consequences of human curiosity."
A large, plucked stringed musical instrument of the cittern family with a scalloped body and wire strings, popular in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe for playing chordal accompaniment.
"The Renaissance consort featured a lute, a viol, and a wire-strung pandora providing the bass harmony."
A reddish, silvery marine food fish of the sea bream family Sparidae (Pagellus erythrinus), native to the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
"Grilled pandora is a prized seafood dish along the Mediterranean coast."
Any of various small marine bivalve mollusks of the family Pandoridae, characterized by an asymmetrical, pearly shell in which one valve is flat and the other is convex.
• Rhymes for pandora
Word Origin & Etymology
For the mythological figure, borrowed via Latin from Ancient Greek Pandora, meaning 'all-gifted', from pan ('all') and doron ('gift'). The musical instrument and sea fish senses derive via Italian and French ultimately from Ancient Greek pandoura, a three-stringed lute.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.