Charon
(ˈkɛərən)
[Gr. pr. name.]
1. In Greek and Latin mythology the name of the ferryman who conveyed the shades of the departed across the Styx; often used allusively.
| 1513 Douglas æneis vi. v. 63 Ȝon grislie ferriar to naim Charon hait. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 41 Which damp holes breathing out a deadly aire some call Charoneæ Scrobes, i. Charons ditches. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 11. 1616 J. Lane Sqr.'s Tale ix. 304 Yowr lives for him shall goe to Carons ferrie. 1822 Byron Vis. Judgm. lxxii, The other side Of Charon's ferry. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men. iii. Wks. (Bohn) I. 329 This Charon ferries them all over in his boat..and all gather one grimness of hue and style. |
2. Ferry-man. (humorous.)
| 1861 Ramsay Remin. iv. (ed. 18) 72 He had acted as Charon of the Dee at Banchory. 1873 Tristram Moab xviii. 361 The gentlemanly-looking Charon, whose negro slaves work the boat. |
Hence Chaˈronic, a.
| 1816 G. S. Faber Orig. Pag. Idol. I. 359 The brethren of this Charonic society. |