Adonis-Like
/əˈdoʊ.nɪs laɪk/noun
Having the exceptionally handsome or physically attractive appearance traditionally associated with Adonis.
Did you know?Adonis was worshipped in ancient Mediterranean rituals where women mourned his death and celebrated his return, linking masculine beauty with a cycle of fertility and resurrection.
Etymological Timeline
Late Bronze Age
Northwest Semitic
ʾadōn
“Lord or master; a title later associated with the dying-and-rising figure known as Adonis.”
Ancient Phoenician tradition
Phoenician
Adon
“Lord; a divine title connected with the seasonal deity whose mourning cult spread through the eastern Mediterranean.”
5th–4th Century BCE
Ancient Greek
Ἄδωνις (Ádōnis)
“Adonis, the beautiful youth beloved by Aphrodite and associated with death, lamentation, and renewal.”
16th Century
English
Adonis
“A strikingly handsome man, through reference to the Greek mythological figure.”
Modern English
English
Adonis-like
“Resembling Adonis in exceptional physical beauty; formed from Adonis plus the suffix-like.”