sisyphus
sisyphus Lexical Profile
• noun
In Greek mythology, a cunning king of Ephyra (Corinth) who was punished in Tartarus for his chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill for eternity, only for it to roll back down every time it neared the top.
"Albert Camus famously compared the human search for meaning in an absurd world to the endless labor of Sisyphus."
Any dung beetle of the genus Sisyphus (family Scarabaeidae), native to Africa and Eurasia, characterized by long hind legs used to roll balls of dung over uneven terrain.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Sīsyphus, from Ancient Greek Σίσυφος (Sísuphos), a figure in Greek mythology whose name is often connected to σοφός (sophós, meaning "wise" or "cunning"), though it is likely of Pre-Greek origin.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.