Corydon

C3O1R1Y4D2O1N1

proper noun

A male given name from Greek, notably used as a stock name for a shepherd in pastorals, in particular a shepherd whose love for a boy is described in Virgil's Eclogues.

OriginAncient Greek κόρυδος →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. literaryA male given name from Greek, notably used as a stock name for a shepherd in pastorals, in particular a shepherd whose love for a boy is described in Virgil's Eclogues.

    They give voice to Corydon′s passion; they confront in their own culture the constraints that hedge his passion in.

    1994, Bruce R. Smith, Homosexual Desire in Shakespeare's England: A Cultural Poetics, page 92
    2 more examples

    Byron shocked regency England by citing it^([Virgil's second eclogue]) in the opening canto of Don Juan, and Andre Gide gave the title Corydon to the controversial defense of homosexuality he published in 1924. Virgil depicts Corydon’s passion with psychological realism and a touch of wry irony.

    2006, Louis Crompton, Homosexuality and Civilization, page 92

    The harlequinade ceases for the moment, and a two-character tragedy begins with the shepherds Thyrsis and Corydon, whose names derive from ancient pastoral poetry.

    2008, Bernard F. Dick, Claudette Colbert: She Walked in Beauty, page 18
  2. A place name used for several towns in the United States.
    1. A town, the county seat of Harrison County, Indiana, also located in Harrison Township.
    2. A small city, the county seat of Wayne County, Iowa.
    3. A town in Henderson County, Kentucky.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκόρυδος“crested lark”
  2. EnglishCorydon

From Ancient Greek κόρυδος (kórudos, “crested lark”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

croydon
Cite this entry
APA

Corydon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Corydon

MLA

“Corydon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Corydon. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Corydon,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Corydon.

Source: Corydon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.