Actaeon
/ækˈtiːən/
Actaeon proper noun: grandson of Cadmus, transformed into a stag by Artemis in book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Proper noun
Actaeon
- Grandson of Cadmus, transformed into a stag by Artemis in book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
- Amid so much prosperity, it was one of his grandsons, Actaeon, who first brought distress to Cadmus, when antlers, foreign to his human shape, sprouted from the youth's forehead, and his hounds gorged themselves on their master's blood.1979, Eric S. Rabkin, Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales, and Stories, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 62
Noun
Actaeon (plural Actaeons)
- A cuckold.
- […] but I had the story from some French officers of distinction, who mentioned the name of the injured and prudent husband, and that he was a person of very high rank. That name, however, even if I had not forgotten it, I should not think it fair to repeat, because it would seem to be a matter of...1814, Commentaries on the laws of Moses, volume 4, a translation of Johann David Michaelis' German text by Alexander Smith: a footnote on page 127
- He once lost a friend by kindly inquiring after his wife, who had made an Acteon of him, first by the head ornament presented, and secondly by sending him to the dogs in the way of pecuniary circumstances.1819, The Hermit in London, published in The Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles Lettres, number 126 (published on June 19, and reprinted in the compilation of Gazette issues printed at the end of...
Verb
Actaeon (third-person singular simple present Actaeons, present participle Actaeoning, simple past and past participle Actaeoned)
- To cuckold.
- […] where vaine glorious Ixion Proclaymed, that he was the Minion of Juno, and had Acteoned Jupiter: for which arrogancie, Jupiter threw him to Hell, with this pictured vengeaunce.1987 [1582], George Whetstone, edited by Diana Shklanka, An Heptameron of Civill Discourses, Garland Publishing, Inc., page 144
- Zuc. […] was I not a handſome fellow from my foote to my feather, had I not wit, nay, which is more, was I not a Don. and didſt thou Acteon me, did I not make thee a Lady.
Herc. And did ſhe not make you a more worſhipfull thing, a Cuckold.1604 (date written), Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], Parasitaster, or The Fawne, […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for W[illiam] C[otton], published 1606, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i
Forms of Actaeon
| Proper noun | |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Acteon |
| alternative form (archaic) | Actæon |
| Noun | |
| plural | Actaeons |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | Actaeons |
| present participle | Actaeoning |
| past participle | Actaeoned |
| past | Actaeoned |
Origin of Actaeon
From Latin Actaeōn, from Ancient Greek Ἀκταίων (Aktaíōn). In Greek mythology, Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag with horns on his head. In European folklore, horns were considered the sign of a cuckold, whence the noun sense of Actaeon, "cuckold", and the verb sense "to cuckold", are derived. Compare horned, put horns on, etc.
Questions about Actaeon
- What does Actaeon mean?
- Actaeon means grandson of Cadmus, transformed into a stag by Artemis in book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
- What part of speech is Actaeon?
- Actaeon can be a proper noun, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce Actaeon?
- Actaeon is pronounced /ækˈtiːən/.
Words near Actaeon in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Actaeon (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “Actaeon.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/actaeon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.