Averno

[ uh-vur-noh; Italian ah-ver-naw ]

noun

1. a crater lake in S Italy, near Naples and the Tyrrhenian Sea, thought by ancients to be the entrance to the underworld.

Averno

/ aˈvɛrno /

noun

1. a crater lake in Italy, near Naples: in ancient times regarded as an entrance to hell Latin nameAvernusəˈvɜːnəs

Word History and Origins

Origin of Averno¹

from Latin, from Greek aornos without birds, from a- ¹+ ornis bird; referring to the legend that the lake's sulphurous exhalations killed birds

Example Sentences

Her 2006 collection, “Averno,” is considered a masterwork for what the Nobel Committee for Literature described as its “visionary interpretation of the myth of Persephone’s descent into hell in the captivity of Hades, the god of death.”

From Los Angeles Times

In “Averno,” she writes about the speaker’s children:

From New York Times

“She seeks the universal, and in this she takes inspiration from myths and Classical motifs,” Olsson added, citing her 2006 collection “Averno,” which the committee described as “masterly” for its “visionary interpretation of the myth of Persephone’s descent into hell in the captivity of Hades, the god of death.”

From Los Angeles Times

Glück, who also won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for “The Wild Iris,” said she likes her more recent work, including her 2006 collection, “Averno,” and her last book, “Faithful and Virtuous Night,” for which she earned the 2014 National Book Award.

From Los Angeles Times

In her 2006 collection, “Averno,” she used the myth of Persephone as a lens to mother-daughter relationships, suffering, aging and death.

From New York Times