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The world may end up under a Sword of Damocles on a tightrope over the abyss.
Andrei A. Gromyko

Meaning of "Sword of Damocles" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SWORD OF DAMOCLES

See Damocles.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF SWORD OF DAMOCLES

Sword of Damocles play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SWORD OF DAMOCLES

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Sword of Damocles is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES SWORD OF DAMOCLES MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Sword of Damocles

Damocles

Damocles is a figure featured in a single moral anecdote commonly referred to as "the Sword of Damocles", an allusion to imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. The Damocles of the anecdote was an obsequious courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, a 4th-century BC tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily. The anecdote apparently figured in the lost history of Sicily by Timaeus of Tauromenium. The Roman orator Cicero may have read it in Diodorus Siculus. He made use of it in his Tusculanae Disputationes, V. 21, by which means it passed into the European cultural mainstream.

Definition of Sword of Damocles in the English dictionary

The definition of Sword of Damocles in the dictionary is a closely impending disaster.

WORDS THAT END LIKE SWORD OF DAMOCLES

Androcles
articles
Canticles
Chronicles
Damocles
Eccles
Empedocles
Eteocles
Feast of Tabernacles
go round in circles
Heracles
Horatius Cocles
horn-rimmed spectacles
in articles
oracles
pair of spectacles
Pericles
Sophocles
spectacles
Themistocles

Synonyms and antonyms of Sword of Damocles in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «Sword of Damocles» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
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TRANSLATION OF SWORD OF DAMOCLES

Find out the translation of Sword of Damocles to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of Sword of Damocles from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «Sword of Damocles» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

达摩克利斯之剑
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

Espada de Damocles
570 millions of speakers

English

Sword of Damocles
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

खतरे की तलवार
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

السيف المسلط
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

Дамоклов меч
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

Sword of Damocles
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

ডামোস্লস এর তলোয়ার
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

Épée de Damoclès
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Pedang Damocles
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Damoklesschwert
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ダモクレスの剣
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

다모 클레스 의 검
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Sword of Damocles
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

Thanh gươm của Damocles
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

டாமோக்ளின் வாள்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

दमोकल्सची तलवार
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Damokles Kılıcı
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

Spada di Damocle
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

Miecz Damoklesa
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

Дамоклів меч
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

Sabia lui Damocles
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

Δαμόκλειος σπάθη
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

Swaard van Damocles
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

Damoklessvärd
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

Sword of Damocles
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of Sword of Damocles

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SWORD OF DAMOCLES»

The term «Sword of Damocles» is regularly used and occupies the 85.532 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
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100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
60
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «Sword of Damocles» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of Sword of Damocles
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «Sword of Damocles».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «SWORD OF DAMOCLES» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «Sword of Damocles» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «Sword of Damocles» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about Sword of Damocles

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «SWORD OF DAMOCLES»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word Sword of Damocles.
1
Andrei A. Gromyko
The world may end up under a Sword of Damocles on a tightrope over the abyss.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SWORD OF DAMOCLES»

Discover the use of Sword of Damocles in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to Sword of Damocles and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Star Trek: Titan #4: Sword of Damocles
Fate: It is an idea as old as life itself.
Geoffrey Thorne, 2007
2
The Sword of Damocles
" 'The Sword of Damocles' is a book of great power, which far surpasses either of its predecessors from her pen, and places her high among American writers.
Anna Katharine Green, 2013
3
The Sword of Damocles: U.S. Financial Hegemony in Colombia ...
Far from fostering democracy and social justice in Chile and Colombia, IMF, World Bank, and U.S. foreign policy during the 1950s and 1960s were major impediments.
Jon V. Kofas, 2002
4
Essentials of Managed Health Care
Compounding the complicated relationship between actors and priorities is the Sword of Damocles. In Greek mythology, the Sword of Damocles represents " ever-present peril." It is also used as a metaphor to suggest a "frailty in existing ...
Peter Reid Kongstvedt, 2007
5
The Sword of Damocles [A Novel ]
Written for a range of audiences, these works are a treasure for any curious reader looking to see the world through the eyes of ages past.
Theodore A. Tharp, 2011
6
Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
1692 Bulke- ley Will 189: Blind zeal is but a mischievous thing at the best, it is acutus culler in manu furientis. Oxford 796; Whiting M90. 5550 The Sword of Damocles 1776 WBingham in Deane Brothers Papers 40: Like the Sword of Damocles, ...
Bartlett Jere Whiting, 1977
7
Essays on the Developing Law of Human Rights
The dismissal standard hangs over their heads like a sword of Damocles, threatening them with dismissal for any speech that might impair the "efficiency of the service". That this Court will ultimately vindicate an employee if his speech is  ...
Loukēs G. Loukaidēs, 1995
8
Classics in Translation, Volume II: Latin Literature
The sword of Damocles 61 But this very tyrant passed his own judgment on the extent of his own happiness. Once one of his parasites, a man named Damocles, was talking about Dionysius' army, his power, the grandeur of his reign, his ...
Paul L. MacKendrick, Herbert M. Howe, 1986
9
The Sword of Damocles: Some Memories of Vice Admiral Sir ...
Spans the 42-year Royal Navy career of Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Mackenzie. This book describes patrols in his World War Two commands HMS Thrasher and HMS Tantalus.
Hugh Mackenzie, 2007
10
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
No book is better for introducing children ages 6 to 9 to legendary historical figures than this collection of stories admirably retold by James Baldwin at the beginning of the last century.
James Baldwin, 2005

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SWORD OF DAMOCLES»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term Sword of Damocles is used in the context of the following news items.
1
CJ Marshall: Significa: The world's Sword of Damocles
This week, and for the next several weeks as well, I'm going to tackle what I consider to be the grimmest and most depressing subject I've ever attempted - the ... «Towanda Daily Review, Jul 15»
2
The 'Sword of Damocles' over Najib?
When King Dionysius offered his position to Damocles, he also said that he would arrange a huge sword to hang above the throne in case the latter misrules the ... «Malaysiakini, Jun 15»
3
O'Brien's 'sword of Damocles' hanging over media, court told
RTÉ's counsel David Holland SC urged Mr Justice Donald Binchy not to permit the businessman to maintain a “sword of Damocles” over the media by leaving in ... «Irish Times, Jun 15»
4
Sword of Damocles restored
Last week, after a gap of nearly 10 years, one of the most important paintings at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) — Sword ... «Pune Mirror, May 15»
5
Sword of Damocles hangs over Elita Promenade
The Damocles sword seems to be hanging over more than a thousand dwellers in one of the blocks of the Elita Promenade, which the district officials say has ... «Deccan Herald, Apr 15»
6
Sword of Damocles hangs over Turkey's filmmakers
Turkish Actors' Union President Meltem Cumbul reads a statement signed by 390 film professionals and 38 cinema institutions during a gathering at the Atlas ... «Today's Zaman, Apr 15»
7
Facebook dangles a sword of Damocles
The social network giant wants to host mainstream media owners' content within its platform and encourage agencies to spend more of their clients' ad dollars ... «PR Week, Mar 15»
8
How the European Central Bank could finally pull the trigger on a …
For that very reason, ELA now hangs like the "sword of Damocles" over Greek banks, according to Lorcan Roche Kelly of Bloomberg. The lenders themselves ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Feb 15»
9
China Graft Buster Wants Targets to Fear 'Sword of Damocles'
The targets should prepare for the “sword of Damocles,” the statement quoted commission chief Wang Qishan as saying, one of his favorite phrases. «Wall Street Journal, Feb 15»
10
Sword of Damocles hangs over CSK, Royals
The Supreme Court's verdict on the betting scandal during the sixth edition of the IPL has cast a shadow over the future of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and ... «Deccan Herald, Jan 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Sword of Damocles [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/sword-of-damocles>. Apr 2024 ».
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