cimmerian

UK/sɪˈmɪə.ɹi.ən/US/sɪˈmɪ(ə)ɹ.i.ən/

cimmerian adjective: perpetually dark or gloomy.

Adjective (1)

cimmerian (comparative more cimmerian, superlative most cimmerian)

(formal, literally, literary, poetic) Perpetually dark or gloomy.
- There, under ebon shades... in dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell.1631, Milton, L'Allegro
- As ragged as thy locks,
  In dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell.1740, George Frideric Handel, Charles Jennens, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
(figuratively, formal) Mentally dark; ignorant; benighted.
- The source of man’s unhappiness is his ignorance of Nature.... To remove this Cimmerian darkness... requires the clue of Ariadne.1770, Baron D'Holbach, The System of Nature

Noun capitalized: Cimmerian

Cimmerian (plural Cimmerians)

(Greek) Any of the mythical people supposed to inhabit a land of perpetual darkness.
- The city, there, of the Cimmerians stands
  With clouds and darkness veil’d, on whom the sun
  Deigns not to look with his beam-darting eye,1791, Homer, translated by William Cowper, The Odyssey of Homer
- On their mysterious shores were the improbable homes of impossible peoples. The Great Sea, the Broad Sea, the Boundless Sea; the Ethiopians, "dwelling far away, the most distant of men," and the Cimmerians, "covered with darkness and cloud," where "baleful night is spread over timid mortals."1900, Jack London, The Shrinkage of the Planet
One of the Cimmerii, ancient equestrian nomads of Indo-European origin.
- Believe me, queen, your swarth Cimmerian
  Doth make your honour of his body's hue,
  Spotted, detested, and abominable.c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- The Phrygian power was broken in the 9th or 8th century B.C. by the Cimmerians, who entered Asia Minor through Armenia1902, Encyclopedia Britannica
(historical) The prophetic priestess presiding over the Apollonian Oracle at Cimmerium in Italy.
- 1867 to 1885, Lactantius (240–320 C.E.), Ante-Nicene Fathers, translated by William Fletcher
  Varro relates that there were ten Sibyls,—the first of the Persians, the second the Libyan, the third the Delphian, the fourth the Cimmerian...

Adjective (2) capitalized: Cimmerian

Cimmerian (comparative more Cimmerian, superlative most Cimmerian)

Pertaining to the ancient Cimmerians.
Characteristic of Cimmeria, especially in having particularly dense darkness etc.
- there it sleepeth, here it slumbreth: more or lesse they are ever darknesses, yea Cimmerian darknesses.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
- Tarzan slept until midnight, then he arose and crept into the Cimmerian blackness of the forest.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 140

Proper noun capitalized: Cimmerian

Cimmerian

The language of the Cimmerians, possibly belonging to the Iranian branch.

Adjective (3) capitalized: Cimmerian

Cimmerian (not comparable)

Related to the prehistoric continent of Cimmeria.

cimmerian meaning in Tamil and Kannada

cimmerian in Tamil

cimmerian, thick darkness: கும்மிருட்டு kummiruṭṭu

cimmerian in Kannada

ಕಗ್ಗತ್ತಲೆಯ, ಗಾಢಾಂಧಕಾರದ

Forms of cimmerian

Adjective
comparative	more cimmerian
superlative	most cimmerian
comparative	more Cimmerian
superlative	most Cimmerian
Noun
plural	Cimmerians

Origin of cimmerian

From Cimmerian.

From the Latin Cimmerius, from Ancient Greek Κιμμέριος (Kimmérios, “pertaining to the Cimmerii”) + -an.

From Cimmeria + -an.

Words formed from cimmerian

Words that rhyme with cimmerian

6 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about cimmerian

What does cimmerian mean?: Cimmerian means perpetually dark or gloomy.
What is cimmerian in Tamil?: Cimmerian in Tamil is கும்மிருட்டு (kummiruṭṭu). See Cimmerian meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is cimmerian?: Cimmerian can be an adjective, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce cimmerian?: Cimmerian is pronounced /sɪˈmɪə.ɹi.ən/ (UK).

Words near cimmerian in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: cimmerian (page history and authors); Cimmerian (page history and authors); கும்மிருட்டு (Tamil) (page history and authors); cimmerian (Kannada Wiktionary) (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: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “cimmerian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cimmerian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.