Meanings
proper noun
- Greekhuman sciencesSon of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Ephyra, as tragic figure doomed eternally to roll a boulder up a hill in Tartarus, a part of Hades.
Indeed, I have looked upon the fable of Sisyphus as an allegory, and that his wife was the stone which so perpetually rolled back upon his hands, effectually retarding his weary progress up-hill.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A Proposal of Marriage”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 132
Origin
- Ancient GreekΣίσυφος
- EnglishSisyphus
From Ancient Greek Σίσυφος (Sísuphos).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Σῑ́συφος
- Σῑ́συφος (Sī́suphos)figure
Arabic سِيزِيف
- سِيزِيف (sizif)figure
Catalan Sísif
- Sísiffigure
Chinese Mandarin 西西弗斯
- 西西弗斯 (Xīxīfúsī)figure
Czech Sisyfos
- Sisyfosfigure
French Sisyphe
- Sisyphefigure
German Sisyphos, Sisyphus
- Sisyphosfigure
- Sisyphusfigure
Greek Σίσυφος
- Σίσυφος (Sísyfos)figure
Italian Sisifo
- Sisifofigure
Japanese シーシュポス
- シーシュポス (Shīshuposu)figure
Polish Syzyf
- Syzyffigure
Portuguese Sísifo
- Sísifofigure
Romanian Sisif
- Sisiffigure
Russian Сизи́ф
- Сизи́ф (Sizíf)figure
Spanish Sísifo
- Sísifofigure
Swedish Sisyfos
- Sisyfosfigure
Turkish Sisifos
- Sisifosfigure
Cite this entry
APA
Sisyphus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sisyphus
MLA
“Sisyphus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sisyphus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sisyphus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sisyphus.
Source: Sisyphus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.