Scylla
/ˈsɪlə/
Scylla proper noun: a dangerous rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirlpool Charybdis on the coast of Sicily. The passage between Scylla and Charybdis was formerly considered perilous; hence, the saying between Scylla and Charybdis signifies a great peril on either hand.
Proper noun
Scylla
- A dangerous rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirlpool Charybdis on the coast of Sicily. The passage between Scylla and Charybdis was formerly considered perilous; hence, the saying between Scylla and Charybdis signifies a great peril on either hand.
- I have never yet been able to steer my lovers through the Scylla of presence, or the Charybdis of absence.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XII. Lady Marchmont’s Journal.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 85
- A personification of said rock as a ravenous monster.
- A princess, daughter of King Nisos of Megara, who fell in love with King Minos and betrayed her city to him.
- Ah cease rash Youth! desist e'er 'tis too late, / Fear the just Gods, and think of Scylla′s Fate!1714, Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock, Canto III
- The main belt asteroid 155 Scylla.
Origin of Scylla
From Latin Scylla, from Ancient Greek Σκύλλα (Skúlla).
Words formed from Scylla
Words that rhyme with Scylla
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- granadilla
- maxilla
- villa
- cascarilla
- cedilla
- coronilla
- mammilla
- mantilla
- Priscilla
- rachilla
- sabadilla
- sapodilla
- scilla
- scintilla
- tefilla
- Anguilla
- antiguerrilla
- aspergilla
- axizilla
- bitchzilla
- bridezilla
- camarilla
- Chipzilla
- couplezilla
- cuntzilla
- Drusilla
- Fedzilla
- fibrilla
- Godzilla
- groomzilla
- hemimaxilla
- hydrilla
- manilla
- millah
- momzilla
- perilla
- premaxilla
- promzilla
- salsilla
- scrilla
- sensilla
- septomaxilla
- serial killer
- sherilla
- Silla
- sinsemilla
- spirilla
- submaxilla
Questions about Scylla
- What does Scylla mean?
- Scylla means a dangerous rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirlpool Charybdis on the coast of Sicily. The passage between Scylla and Charybdis was formerly considered perilous; hence, the saying between Scylla and Charybdis signifies a great peril on either hand.
- What part of speech is Scylla?
- Scylla is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Scylla?
- Scylla is pronounced /ˈsɪlə/.
Words near Scylla in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Scylla (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:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Scylla.wav.
Cite this entry: “Scylla.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scylla. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.