lotus-eater

lotus-eater
/loh"teuhs ee'teuhr/, n.
1. Class. Myth. a member of a people whom Odysseus found existing in a state of languorous forgetfulness induced by their eating of the fruit of the legendary lotus; one of the lotophagi.
2. a person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world; daydreamer.
[1825-35; sing. of lotus-eaters, trans. of Gk Lotophágoi, n. use of masc. pl. of lotophágos lotus-eating. See LOTUS, -PHAGOUS]

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Greek plural  Lotophagoi,  Latin plural  Lotophagi,  

      in Greek mythology, one of a tribe encountered by the Greek hero Odysseus during his return from Troy, after a north wind had driven him and his men from Cape Malea (Homer, Odyssey, Book IX). The local inhabitants, whose distinctive practice is indicated by their name, invited Odysseus' scouts to eat of the mysterious plant. Those who did so were overcome by a blissful forgetfulness; they had to be dragged back to the ship and chained to the rowing-benches, or they would never have returned to their duties. The 5th-century-BC historian Herodotus located the Lotus-Eaters on the Libyan coast. Alfred, Lord Tennyson brought the story to the modern world in his poem "The Lotos-Eaters" (1832).

      The Greeks called several non-narcotic plants lōtos, but the name may have been used in this case for the opium poppy, the ripe seed pod of which resembles the pod of the true lotus. The phrase “to eat lotus” is used metaphorically by numerous ancient writers to mean “to forget,” or “to be unmindful.”

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Lotus-eater — Lo tus eat er (l[=o] t[u^]s [=e]t [ e]r), Lotos eater Lo tos eat er (l[=o] t[o^]s [=e]t [ e]r), n. (Class. Myth.) One who ate the fruit or leaf of the lotus, and, as a consequence, gave himself up to indolence and daydreams; one of the Lotophagi …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lotus-eater — [lōt′əsēt΄ər] n. in the Odyssey, one of a people who ate the fruit of the lotus and consequently became indolent, dreamy, and forgetful of duty …   English World dictionary

  • lotus-eater — noun Date: 1832 1. any of a people in Homer s Odyssey subsisting on the lotus and living in the dreamy indolence it induces 2. an indolent person …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • lotus eater — person who lives in pleasure and luxury, lazy and indulgent person; person who lived in an indolent and languorous forgetfulness state from eating the fruit or leaf of the lotus (Classical Mythology) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • lotus-eater — noun a person given to indulgence in pleasure and luxury. Derivatives lotus eating adjective …   English new terms dictionary

  • lotus-eater — lo′tus eat er n. 1) myt a member of a people in Homer s Odyssey who, from eating the fruit of the legendary lotus, lived in a state of languorous forgetfulness 2) a person who leads a life of indolent ease …   From formal English to slang

  • lotus-eater — /ˈloʊtəs itə/ (say lohtuhs eetuh) noun someone who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world. {from the Odyssey by Homer describing the Lotophagi who lived somewhere on the north African coast and who ate the leaves of… …  

  • lotus-eater — noun someone indifferent to the busy world in the Odyssey Homer tells of lotus eaters who live in dreamy indolence • Syn: ↑stargazer • Derivationally related forms: ↑stargaze (for: ↑stargazer) • Hyper …   Useful english dictionary

  • lotus eater — noun a) One of the Lotophagi (see ). b) Someone with an easy life who does not worry about much …   Wiktionary

  • lotus eater — Synonyms and related words: Don Quixote, Quixote, clock watcher, dallier, dawdle, dawdler, daydreamer, diddler, dillydallier, do nothing, dolittle, doodler, dreamer, dreamer of dreams, enthusiast, escapist, faineant, gentleman of leisure,… …   Moby Thesaurus

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