caduceus
Americannoun
PLURAL
caducei-
Classical Mythology. the staff carried by Mercury as messenger of the gods.
-
a representation of this staff used as an emblem of the medical profession and as the insignia of the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
noun
-
classical myth a staff entwined with two serpents and bearing a pair of wings at the top, carried by Hermes (Mercury) as messenger of the gods
-
an insignia resembling this staff used as an emblem of the medical profession Compare staff of Aesculapius
Other Word Forms
- caducean adjective
Etymology
Origin of caduceus
1585–95; < Latin, variant of cādūceum < Greek (Doric) kārȳ́keion herald's staff, equivalent to kārȳk- (stem of kârȳx ) herald + -eion, neuter of -eios adj. suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bathed in blue and red light, it has a caduceus — a symbol for medicine, with winged staff and twined serpents — projected high on either side.
From New York Times
Like the standard medical ID bracelets, each has an engraved six-pointed star with caduceus — the medical symbol inspired by the Greek god Hermes — at its center.
From New York Times
Above each of those arches looms a caduceus, the winged staff entwined with two snakes that’s used as a symbol of medicine.
From Washington Times
A small caduceus medical symbol is inserted beside your photo on your driver license or state ID card, to notify medical personnel of your decision.
From Washington Times
The card shows a man and a woman each holding a cup; their cups touch, and from the union springs a winged-lion head atop a caduceus.
From The New Yorker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
