Meanings
- Romanhuman sciencesThe goddess of springtime, queen of the underworld and the wife of Pluto; the Roman equivalent of Persephone.
Thou art more than the Gods who number the days of our temporal breath; / For these give labour and slumber; but thou, Proserpina, death.
1866, Algernon Charles Swinburne, “Hymn to Proserpine”, in Poems and Ballads, London: J. C. Hotten, page 84 - astrologyA fictitious planet beyond Pluto.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper noun26 Proserpina, a main-belt asteroid.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*pers-o-“sheaf of corn, grain, seed”
- grc-ionΠροσερπίνη
- grc-dorΠροσερπίνα
- Ancient GreekΠερσεφόνη
- LatinPrōserpina
- EnglishProserpina
From Latin Prōserpina from Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη (Persephónē) by metathesis perhaps first in Magna Graecia via a Sicilian Doric Greek Προσερπίνα (Proserpína) or Ionic Greek Προσερπίνη (Proserpínē), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pers-o- (“sheaf of corn, grain, seed”) and *gʷʰn̥-t- (“to strike”), meaning 'grain-thresher' or 'She-who-threshes-the-grain'.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, grc-dor
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 冥后星
- 冥后星 (Mínghòuxīng)Asteroid
Cite this entry
Proserpina. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Proserpina
“Proserpina.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Proserpina. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Proserpina,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Proserpina.
Source: Proserpina on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.