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myrmidon

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myrmidon¹

  • /ˈmɜː.mɪˌdɒn/ UK
  • /ˈmɜː.mɪ.dən/ UK
  • /ˈmɝ.mɪˌdɑn/ US
  • /ˈmɝ.mɪ.dən/ US

Where it comes from

From Myrmidon, from Latin Myrmidones, from Ancient Greek Μυρμιδόνες (Murmidónes).

noun myrmidons

  1. A soldier or a subordinate civil officer who executes orders of a superior without protest or pity (sometimes applied to bailiffs, constables, etc). Antonia bustled round the ransack'd room, / And, turning up her nose, with looks abused / Her master, and his myrmidons, of whom / Not one, except the attorney, was amused; […]

    Similar: acolyte, adjutant, aide, bootlicker, disciple, flunkey, footman, satrap, follower, henchman, hireling, inferior

Myrmidon²

  • /ˈmɜː.mɪˌdɒn/ UK
  • /ˈmɜː.mɪ.dən/ UK
  • /ˈmɝ.mɪˌdɑn/ US
  • /ˈmɝ.mɪ.dən/ US

Where it comes from

From Latin Myrmidones, from Ancient Greek Μυρμιδόνες (Murmidónes), a tribe of warriors led by Achilles to the Trojan War. Folk etymology in Ovid's time derived the tribe's name from μυρμηδών (murmēdṓn, “ant-nest”), from μύρμηξ (múrmēx, “ant”)).

noun Myrmidons

  1. Greek One of a fierce tribe or troop who accompanied Achilles, their king, in the Trojan War. The Myrmidons were the soldiers of Achilles, in the Trojan war. From them all zealous and unscrupulous followers of a political chief are called by that name, down to this day. But the origin of the Myrmidons would not give one the idea of a fierce and bloody race, but rather of a laborious and peac

proper noun

  1. Greek The ancestral hero of the Myrmidon tribe, son of Zeus and Eurymedusa.

Translations

Every language

noun member of a tribe who accompanied Achilles

DeutschMyrmidone

name ancestral hero

DeutschMyrmidon

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Cite this
MLA

"myrmidon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/myrmidon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

myrmidon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/myrmidon

Chicago

"myrmidon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/myrmidon.

BibTeX
@misc{myrmidon_2026,
  title = {myrmidon},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/myrmidon},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}