Strephon

English Etymology From en grc στρέφων, the active present participle of en grc στρέφω to twist, to avert verb, chiefly from its use as the name of a rustic lover in Sir Philip Sidney's 1593 pastoral romance The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia. Proper noun s en chiefly _ literary en male Ancient Greek. en Jonathan Swift The progress of Beauty 1719 To see her from her pillow rise, All reeking in a cloudy steam, Crack'd lips, foul teeth, and gummy eyes, Poor Strephon! how would he blaspheme! VI IX As when two doves, or two wood-pigeons, or as when Strephon and Phyllis (for that comes nearest to the mark) are retired into some pleasant solitary grove, to enjoy the delightful conversation of Love Noun en chiefly _ literary A male lover. en 1855 Frederick Lawrence The life of Henry Fielding those palmy days of pastoral revelry;—when every lover was a Damon or a Strephon, and his beloved a Delia or a Celia. en 1862 Theodore Winthrop Edwin Brothertoft I am still sick with his sentimentality of a Strephon. He is a flippant coxcomb. en 1901 The Atlantic Monthly 87 All their tunes were gay and lively ones, and the younger men moved their feet to the music, while a Strephon at the lower end of the lists seized upon a blooming Chloe, and the two began to dance "as if," quoth the Colonel, "the musicians were so many tarantula doctors." en April 14 2002 Sharon Elizabeth Doyle; et al Death of a Doxy Nero Wolfe (2001 TV series) Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe: You know, of course, that Orrie Cather is in custody. What you don't know is that he was on intimate terms with Miss Kerr for about a year and she told him many things about you, her provider. Naturally, she told you nothing of him, her Strephon. Synonyms See Thesaurus:lover and Thesaurus:sexual partner Anagrams en ehnoprst pen'orths en eponyms