cothurnus

C3O1T1H4U1R1N1U1S1

noun

A buskin used in ancient tragedy.

OriginLatin cothurnus ← Ancient Greek κόθορνος →
Scrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncothurnus (plural cothurni)

plural cothurni · alternative cothurn · alternative kothornos

  1. A buskin used in ancient tragedy.
  2. figurativelyThe stilted style denoting ancient tragedy.

    Madame Grandoni had insisted on the fact that she was an actress, and this little speech seemed a glimpse of the cothurnus.

    1875, Henry James, Roderick Hudson, New York Edition 1909, hardcover, page 410

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
buskin

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκόθορνος
  2. Latincothurnus
  3. Englishcothurnus

Learned borrowing from Latin cothurnus, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek κόθορνος (kóthornos).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cothurnus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cothurnus

MLA

“cothurnus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cothurnus. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cothurnus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cothurnus.

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