talaria

ta·la·ria
T1A1L1A1R1I1A1
UK/təˈlɛəɹi.ə/US/təˈlɛəɹiə/US/təˈlɛɹiə/

noun

The winged sandals worn by certain gods and goddesses, especially the Roman god Mercury (and his Greek counterpart Hermes).

RareScrabble 7

Meanings

nountalaria pl (plural only)
  1. GreekRomanpluralplural onlyhuman sciencesThe winged sandals worn by certain gods and goddesses, especially the Roman god Mercury (and his Greek counterpart Hermes).

    It was the god Hermes, he who conducted souls to the Elysian fields, the slender, agile, elegant figure, beautiful in its sinuous motion, with the petasus on his head and the winged talaria on his ankles, that I beheld floating over me.

    1867 May, W. W. S., “A Modern Magician”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CI, number DCXIX, Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons, […], →OCLC, page 566
    3 more examples

    Byres has drawn these figures with wings at their ankles, sometimes fastened to the leg, and sometimes like those at their shoulders, growing from the flesh—in both which ways the talaria of Mercury and Perseus are represented on ancient monuments. Nothing of this sort could I perceive; it was manifest to me that these were not talaria, but simple buskins with peaked flaps, such as are commonly depicted on vases of the archaic Greek style, and on the legs of Roman Lares in the paintings of Pompeii.

    1848, George Dennis, “Bieda.—Blera.”, in The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, footnote 10, page 319

    From the Graiæ the literary myths make him [Perseus] go to the Nymphs, the artistic ones to the Naiads or nymphs of the lake Tritonis, from which he receives the helmet of Hades, the kibisis or wallet, and the talaria or winged sandals. [...] Other versions made him receive the helmet and talaria from Hermes. On the early monuments the helmet of Hades is like the petasus of Hermes, and the sandals are winged, but in many other works of art, such as mirrors or gems, the talaria are represented as wings, which he attaches to his feet.

    1854 May 25, Samuel Birch, “V. On a Vase Representing an Adventure of Perseus.”, in Archaeologia: Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, London: Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London; printed by J[ohn] B[owyer] Nichols and Sons, […], published 1855, →OCLC, page 56

    With his horizon all his own, yet he a poor man, born to be poor, with his inherited Irish poverty or poor life, his Adam's grandmother and boggy ways, not to rise in this world, he nor his posterity, till their wading webbed bog-trotting feet get talaria to their heels.

    1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Baker Farm”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 225

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*teh₂g-“to touch”
  2. Latintālāria
  3. Englishtalaria

From Latin tālāria, plural form of tālāris (“of or pertaining to the ankle or heel”), from tālus (“anklebone, talus; heel”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to touch”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French talonnières
  • talonnièreswinged sandals
German Flügelschuhe
  • Flügelschuhewinged sandals
Greek πτηνοπέδῑλος, πτερόεντα πέδιλα
  • πτηνοπέδῑλος (ptinopédilos)winged sandals
  • πτερόεντα πέδιλα (pteróenta pédila)winged sandals
Japanese タラリア
  • タラリアwinged sandals
Latin tālāria
  • tālāriawinged sandals
Russian таларии
  • таларии (talarii)winged sandals
Ukrainian тал́арії
  • тал́арії (taĺariji)winged sandals

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with talaria

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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