Hippocrene

H4I1P3P3O1C3R1E1N1E1
/ˌhɪpəˈkɹiːni/poetic/ˈhɪpəkɹiːn/

proper noun

A fountain on Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses and formed by the hooves of Pegasus, the waters of which were supposed to give poetic inspiration when imbibed.

OriginAncient Greek Ἱπποκρήνη →
UncommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. Greekhuman sciencesA fountain on Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses and formed by the hooves of Pegasus, the waters of which were supposed to give poetic inspiration when imbibed.

    Maddening draughts of Hippocrene.

    1842, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Goblet of Life
    1 more example

    O for a beaker full of the warm South, / Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, / With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, / And purple-stained mouth; […]

    1819, John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 108

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekἹπποκρήνη
  2. EnglishHippocrene

Ancient Greek Ἱπποκρήνη (Hippokrḗnē, literally “horse spring”)

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French Hippocrène
  • HippocrèneFountain on Mount Helicon
Cite this entry
APA

Hippocrene. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hippocrene

MLA

“Hippocrene.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hippocrene. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hippocrene,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hippocrene.

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