Atreides
/əˈtreɪɪdiːz/noun
A patronymic meaning a descendant of Atreus, especially the fictional noble house in Frank Herbert’s Dune.
Did you know?In Greek mythology, Atreus’s family included Agamemnon and Menelaus, and its legends featured murder, revenge, cannibalism, and divine punishment long before Dune gave the name a science-fiction empire.
Etymological Timeline
Mycenaean/Classical Greek period
Greek
Ἀτρεύς (Atreús)
“Atreus, the mythological king whose family became infamous for inherited violence; the name’s deeper origin is uncertain.”
Classical Greek
Greek
Ἀτρείδης (Atreídēs)
“A son or descendant of Atreus; the patronymic form used for figures such as Agamemnon and Menelaus.”
Hellenistic Greek
Greek
Ἀτρεΐδαι (Atreídai)
“The Atreids, meaning the descendants or dynasty of Atreus.”
Classical and Late Latin
Latin
Atridae / Atreides
“Latin forms referring to the descendants or house of Atreus.”
1965
English
House Atreides
“Frank Herbert’s fictional aristocratic dynasty in Dune, deliberately evoking the heroic and tragic Atreid family of Greek myth.”
Modern English
English
Atreides
“A surname or fictional dynastic name, most prominently associated with the ruling house of Dune.”
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