caducean

comparative more caducean · superlative most caducean

1. Of or relating to the caduceus, Mercury's wand, and symbol of medicine.

   The scene was unchanged; and even in winter the soul of beauty hovered over it, ready again to reanimate the corpse, when the caducean wand of spring should touch it.

   1997, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Stuart Curran, Valperga, Or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca, page 413

   3 more examples

   He loved "Simplicissimus" as his nom de main—often simplified to S-s or simply s, which he called The Snake, the savior of woman: his caducean sign of a mental health and guilelessness somewhat inconsonant with his equally sincere claim to be "the Hermes of good news who teaches knowledge of good and evil!"

   2015, Jonathan Bayliss, Gloucesterbook

   This is apparent in her relationship with the caducean snakes, Mack and Mike ( 'macrocosm' and 'microcosm' respectively ) in which she takes the role of disciple to their teacher as her journey unfolds.

   2016, Simon Locke, Re-crafting Rationalization, page 119

   In fact, this hieroglypic was eliminated from Salmon's editions, which substituted a caducean image of two serpents devouring each other (illustrated sixth from the left in Salmon's diagram, fig. 2) for the original virgin-dragon picture.

   2019, Laurinda Dixon, Nicolas Flamel