Phoenix
WordNet
noun
(1) The state capital and largest city located in south central Arizona; situated in a former desert that has become a prosperous agricultural area thanks to irrigation
(2) A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor
(3) A legendary Arabian bird said to periodically burn itself to death and emerge from the ashes as a new phoenix; according to most versions only one phoenix lived at a time and it renewed itself every 500 years
(4) A large monocotyledonous genus of pinnate-leaved palms found in Asia and Africa
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From Old English and fenix, from M.L. phenix, from Greek phoinix from Ancient Egyptian . Signifies "mythical bird," also "the date" (fruit and tree), also "Phoenician," literally "purple-red," perhaps a foreign word, or from . Exact relation and order of the senses in Greek is unclear.
Proper noun
Phoenix
- : A botanical name at the rank of genus - the date palms
- : A genus of butterfly in the family Sphingidae
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Etymology
From phoenīx < (phoinix)/ (Phoinix).
Proper noun
- A mythical firebird; especially the sacred one from ancient Egyptian mythology
- A spring constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble the mythical bird. It lies north of Tucana.
- A character in the Iliad and father of Adonis in Greek mythology or a different character in Greek mythology, brother of Europa and Cadmus
- The capital city of Arizona, United States.
- A nickname sometimes used for Japan after World War II.