Word.ws English Dictionary

tantalus

/ˈtæntələs/

tantalus noun: a stork of the genus Mycteria (formerly Tantalus), especially the American wood stork, Mycteria americana.

Noun

tantalus (plural tantaluses)

  1. A stork of the genus Mycteria (formerly Tantalus), especially the American wood stork, Mycteria americana.
  2. A stand in which to lock up drink decanters while keeping them visible.
    • Yes, there was a tantalus containing brandy and whisky on the sea-chest.1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Black Peter, Norton, published 2005, page 984
    • “A small boy, sir. Said I was to be sure and see you got it most particular.” He unlocked a cupboard near the window and produced a tantalus. “Whisky, sir, or cocktail?”1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond
  3. Something of an evasive or retreating nature, something consistently out of reach; a tantalising thing.
    • Over all, there brooded the shadow of his injuries and the tantalus of their slow healing.1953, Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, Penguin Classics, published 2004, page 149

Proper noun capitalized: Tantalus

Tantalus

  1. (Greek) A Phrygian king who was condemned to remain in Tartarus, chin-deep in water, with fruit-laden branches hanging above his head; whenever he tried to drink or eat, the water and fruit receded out of reach.
    • He will not mannage her, although he mount her, / That worse then Tantalus is her annoy1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC
    • But like still pining Tantalus he sits / And vselesse barnes the haruest of his wits1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC

tantalus meaning in Tamil

tantalus in Tamil

வானிறை செல்வன்

Forms of tantalus

pluraltantaluses

Origin of tantalus

From Latin Tantalus, from Ancient Greek Τάνταλος (Tántalos, “Tantalus”), a Phrygian king in Greek mythology who was condemned to stand in a pool of water which receded every time he tried to drink, and with overhanging branches of fruit which pulled back whenever he tried to eat. Doublet of Tantalus.

From Latin Tantalus, from Ancient Greek Τάνταλος (Tántalos). Doublet of tantalus.

Words formed from tantalus

Phrases with tantalus

Questions about tantalus

What does tantalus mean?
Tantalus means a stork of the genus Mycteria (formerly Tantalus), especially the American wood stork, Mycteria americana.
What is tantalus in Tamil?
Tantalus in Tamil is வானிறை செல்வன். See Tantalus meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is tantalus?
Tantalus can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce tantalus?
Tantalus is pronounced /ˈtæntələs/.
What is the plural of tantalus?
The plural of tantalus is tantaluses.

Words near tantalus in the dictionary

  1. Tantallon
  2. tantalocene
  3. tantalous
  4. tantalum
  5. tantalums
  6. tantalus
  7. Tantalus cup
  8. Tantalus cups
  9. Tantalus sphinx
  10. Tantalus sphinxes
  11. tantaluses

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tantalus (page history and authors); Tantalus (page history and authors); Tantalus (Tamil 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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Tantalus.wav.

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