Orpheus

O1R1P3H4E1U1S1
/ˈɔɹ.fi.əs//ˈɔɹ.fjuːs/

proper noun

A Thracian musician and poet, who failed to retrieve his wife Eurydice from Hades.

OriginAncient Greek Ὀρφεύς →
Less commonScrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. Greekhuman sciencesA Thracian musician and poet, who failed to retrieve his wife Eurydice from Hades.
  2. rareA male given name from Ancient Greek.

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekὈρφεύς
  2. EnglishOrpheus

From Ancient Greek Ὀρφεύς (Orpheús), built from an uncertain root with the -εύς (-eús) suffix. Perhaps root-cognate to Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek Ὀρφεύς
  • Ὀρφεύς (Orpheús)the musician who searched for Eurydice
Arabic أُورْفِيُوس
  • أُورْفِيُوس (ʔūrfiyūs)the musician who searched for Eurydice
Basque Orfeo
  • Orfeothe musician who searched for Eurydice
Bengali ওর্ফেউস, অর্ফিয়াস
  • ওর্ফেউস (ōrpheus)the musician who searched for Eurydice
  • অর্ফিয়াস (orphiẏaś)the musician who searched for Eurydice
Bulgarian Орфей, Орфей
  • Орфей (Orfej)the musician who searched for Eurydice
  • Орфей (Orfej)male given name
Catalan Orfeu
  • Orfeuthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Chinese Mandarin 俄耳甫斯, 奧菲厄斯 /奥菲厄斯
  • 俄耳甫斯 (É'ěrfǔsī)the musician who searched for Eurydice
  • 奧菲厄斯 /奥菲厄斯 (Àofēi'èsī)male given name
Czech Orfeus
  • Orfeusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Dutch Orpheus
  • Orpheusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Esperanto Orfeo
  • Orfeothe musician who searched for Eurydice
Finnish Orfeus
  • Orfeusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
French Orphée
  • Orphéethe musician who searched for Eurydice
German Orpheus
  • Orpheusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Greek Ορφέας, Ορφεύς
  • Ορφέας (Orféas)the musician who searched for Eurydice
  • Ορφεύς (Orféfs)the musician who searched for Eurydice
Hebrew אורפיאוס, אורפיאוס
  • אורפיאוסthe musician who searched for Eurydice
  • אורפיאוסmale given name
Hungarian Orpheusz
  • Orpheuszthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Indonesian Orfeus
  • Orfeusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Irish Oirféas
  • Oirféasthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Italian Orfeo, Orfeo
  • Orfeothe musician who searched for Eurydice
  • Orfeomale given name
Japanese オルフェウス
  • オルフェウス (Orufeusu)the musician who searched for Eurydice
Korean 오르페우스
  • 오르페우스 (oreupe'useu)the musician who searched for Eurydice
Latin Orphe͡us
  • Orphe͡usthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Latvian Orfejs
  • Orfejsthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Lithuanian Orfėjas
  • Orfėjasthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Norwegian Bokmål Orfeus
  • Orfeusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Polish Orfeusz
  • Orfeuszthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Portuguese Orfeu
  • Orfeuthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Romanian Orfeu
  • Orfeuthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Russian Орфе́й
  • Орфе́й (Orféj)the musician who searched for Eurydice
Slovak Orfeus
  • Orfeusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Spanish Orfeo
  • Orfeothe musician who searched for Eurydice
Swedish Orfeus
  • Orfeusthe musician who searched for Eurydice
Turkish Orfe
  • Orfethe musician who searched for Eurydice
Ukrainian Орфе́й
  • Орфе́й (Orféj)the musician who searched for Eurydice

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Sheopurupshore
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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