Cimmerian

[ si-meer-ee-uhn ]

adjective

1. Classical Mythology. of, relating to, or suggestive of a northern people believed to dwell in perpetual darkness.
2. very dark; gloomy:

   deep, Cimmerian caverns.

Cimmerian

/ sɪˈmɪərɪən /

adjective

1. sometimes not capital very dark; gloomy

noun

1. Greek myth one of a people who lived in a land of darkness at the edge of the world

Other Words From

• Cim·meri·an·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cimmerian¹

First recorded in 1580–1600; from the Latin plural noun Cimmeriī, from the Greek plural noun Kimmérioi, a mythical people mentioned in book 11 of the Odyssey as living at the edge of Oceanus, the stream that surrounds the earth, in a city wrapped in mist and fog, where the sun never shines, near the entrance to Hades

Example Sentences

The Cimmerian warrior slashes his way across Hyboria on a mission that begins as a personal vendetta but turns into an epic battle against a supernatural evil.

From Los Angeles Times

Before he even had time to yell, he dropped like a rock into the Cimmerian bowels of the glacier.

From Literature

Who can forget the endless close-ups of the feuding husband and wife in Ingmar Bergman's Cimmerian masterpiece Scenes from a Marriage?

From Scientific American

Schwarzenegger is almost as much of a self-made man as the great Cimmerian himself.

From The Guardian

Beyond, lies the ice-bound land of giants—Jötunheim, giant’s home—dark like the Cimmerian land, and peopled with beings as weird and terrible as the Cyclops or the Gorgons.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• black
• cloudy
• darkened
• dim
• dingy
• drab
• dull
• foggy
• gloomy
• misty
• murky
• overcast
• shadowy
• somber