What is the meaning of Damocles?

noun

  • The Greek courtier to Dionysius the Elder who (according to legend) was condemned to sit under a naked sword that was suspended by a hair in order to demonstrate to him that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was (4th century BC. ).
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). Damocles. Retrieved September 27, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/damocles/definitions/1233431
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "Damocles" http://smartdefine.org/damocles/definitions/1233431 (accessed September 27, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, Damocles, Smart Define, viewed 27 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/damocles/definitions/1233431>.
MLAWordNet. "Damocles" 23 October 2010. Web. 27 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/damocles/definitions/1233431>
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