Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Narcissus

Definition: Narcissus

Narcissus

Noun

1. Bulbous plant having erect linear leaves and showy yellow or white flowers either solitary or in clusters.

2. (Greek mythology) a beautiful young man who fell in love with his own reflection.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

"Narcissus" is a name that signifies or is derived from: "asleep", "to be numb", "astonishment", "stupidity".

Date "narcissus" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Etymology: Narcissus \Nar*cis"sus\, noun; plural Narcissuses. [Latin expression narcissus, and (personified) Narcissus, Greek na`rkissos, Na`rkissos, from na`rkh torpor, in allusion to the narcotic properties of the flower. Compare to Narcotic.]. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Narcissus

DomainDefinition

Bible

Narcissus daffodil, a Roman whom Paul salutes (Rom. 16:11). He is supposed to have been the private secretary of the emperor Claudius. This is, however, quite uncertain. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

Biographical Satire

NARCISSUS, a lover who forgot there were other girls, and pined away into a flower and a tiresome song. Source: Who was Who: 5000BC - 1914.

Literature

Narcissus (The). This charming flower is named from the son of Cephisus. This beautiful youth saw his reflection in a fountain, and thought it the presiding nymph of the place. He tried to reach it, and jumped into the fountain, where he died. The nymphs came to take up the body that they might pay it funeral honours, but found only a flower, which they called Narcissus, after the name of the son of Cephisus. (Ovid's Metamorphoses, iii. 346, etc.)
Plutarch says the plant is called Narcissus from the Greek narke (numbness), and that it is properly narcosis, meaning the plant which produces numbness or palsy.
"Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph that livst unseen ...
Canst thou not tell me of a gentle pair.
That likest thy Narcissus are?"
Milton: Comus, 235, etc.
Echo fell in love with Narcissus. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Narcissi

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Narcissi (plural of Narcissus) is a group of hardy spring-flowering bulbs, including the daffodil. The botanic name of the genus is Narcissus. Narcissi are mostly native to the Mediterranean region, but a few species are found through central Asia to China. The range of forms in cultivation has been heavily modified and extended, with new variations available in nurseries practically every year. The Narcissus plant is named after the character of the same name in Greek mythology.

Narcissi are sometimes called jonquils in North America, but strictly speaking that name belongs only to the rush-leaved jonquilla narcissi and its cultivars. Daffodils are the large trumpeted varieties of narcissi.

The varieties include:

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Narcissus

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Narcissus may mean either:

This is a Wikipedia disambiguation page. If you followed a link here, you might want to go back and fix it.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Narcissus."

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Narcissus (mythology)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In Greek mythology, Narcissus (Greek Ναρκισσος) spurned the love of both boys and girls. A rejected lover prayed to Nemesis that Narcissus would one day know the pain of unreturned love, and this curse was fulfilled when Narcissus became entranced by the image of a boy he later discovered only to be his own reflection in a pool. A nymph, Echo, loved this beautiful boy, but she could never get his attention. He remained by the water's edge, and she eventually pined away waiting for him...until nothing was left of Echo but her sad, pleading voice, and Narcissus turned into the flower that bears his name (see Narcissi).

Narcissus was the son of Cephissus and Liriope.

The tale of Narcissus is told in numerous places, but its telling in Book III of Ovid's Metamorphoses is probably the most well known.

An alternate version from Boeotia claims that Narcissus lived in Thespiae. Ameinias, a young man, loved Narcissus but was scorned. Narcissus was tired of Ameinias' constant affection and gave him a sword as a present. Ameinias used the sword to kill himself on Narcissus' doorstep and cursed his name. Later, Narcissus stared at his own reflection in a spring and was turned into a daffodil.

Narcissism is named after Narcissus.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Narcissus (mythology)."

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Operation Narcissus

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

During World War II, Operation Narcissus was a raid by forty members of the Special Air Service on a lighthouse on the southeast coast of Sicily. The team landed on 10 July, 1943 with the mission of capturing the lighthouse and the surrounding high ground.

Despite intelligence reports, the area was deserted, and so the position was no threat to the nearby Husky landings. The troopers withdrew without a shot being fired.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Operation Narcissus."

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Synonym: Narcissus

Synonym: Daffodils. (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Narcissus

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Beauty

Venus, Aphrodite, Hebe, the Graces, Peri, Houri, Cupid, Apollo, Hyperion, Adonis, Antionous, Narcissus.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Narcissus

English words defined with "narcissus": Amaryllidaceae, Amaryllideous, amaryllis family ♦ daffodil ♦ echo ♦ family Amaryllidaceae ♦ Jonquille ♦ Lily daffodil ♦ Narcissine, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, Narcissuses ♦ Paracorolla, Primrose peerless ♦ rose of Sharon. (references)
Specialty definitions using "narcissus": Flowers and Trees ♦ Silvanella. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Narcissus" is also a word in the following language with English translations in parentheses.

Latin (daffodil, narcissus).

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Modern Usage: Narcissus

DomainUsage

Movie/TV Titles

Pink Narcissus (1971)

Narcissus (1956)

Black Narcissus (1947)

Leather Narcissus (1980)

Narcissus (1978)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Narcissus

DomainTitle

References

  • Shanghai Narcissus Electric: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

    (more reference examples)

  

Books

  

Theater & Movies

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Narcissus

Photos:
Narcissus

More pictures...

Illustrations:
Narcissus

More pictures...

Computer Images:
Narcissus

More pictures...

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Use in Literature: Narcissus

TitleAuthorQuote

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

The common herd is an old Narcissus, who adores himself, and who applauds the common

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Spoken Usage: Narcissus

SpeakerPhrase(s)

Dennis Miller

I admit I could not be more interested in myself if I were the illegitimate son of Narcissus and Madonna looking at a disco ball through the eyes of a fly.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Narcissus

"Narcissus" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 64.29% of the time. "Narcissus" is used about 28 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words		Rank in English
Noun (singular)64.29%1882,615
Noun (proper)35.71%10111,207
                    Total100.00%28N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Derived & Related Names: Narcissus

"Narcissus" is a name that signifies or is derived from: "asleep", "to be numb", "astonishment", "stupidity".
 
The following table summarizes names related to "Narcissus."
NameGenderLanguageRelated Name
NarcissusN/ABiblicalN/A
NarcissaFemaleEnglishNarcissus
NarcisseMaleFrenchNarcissus
NarcissusMaleGreek Mythology (Latinized)N/A
NarcisoMaleItalianNarcissus
NarcisoMalePortugueseNarcissus
NarcisaFemaleRomanianNarcissus
NarcisoMaleSpanishNarcissus
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Usage in Company Names: Narcissus

CountryName
China

Shanghai Narcissus Electric

 (more examples...)

Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.

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Expressions: Narcissus

Expressions using "narcissus": genus Narcissus ♦ narcissus biflorus ♦ narcissus incomparabilis ♦ narcissus Jonquilla ♦ narcissus poeticus ♦ narcissus polyanthus ♦ narcissus pseudonarcissus ♦ narcissus Tazetta. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "narcissus": narcissus-like.

Ending with "narcissus": N Pseudo-narcissus, Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Narcissus

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day		ExpressionFrequency
per Day

narcissus

240

narcissus story

4

admirer narcissus

42

eros narcissus

3

narcissus flower

35

narcissus poeticus

3

echo and narcissus

26

lover narcissus

3

pink narcissus

10

narcissus paperwhite

3

narcissus goldmund

10

greek mythology narcissus

2

black narcissus

9

greek narcissus

2

orchid narcissus

8

croscill orchid narcissus

2

metamorphosis of narcissus

8

narcissus mythology

2

myth narcissus

7

lyrics narcissus

2

narcissus nigger

6

black narcissus movie

2

flower narcissus picture

5

canvas narcissus oil

2

narcissus picture

5

greek myth narcissus

2

narcissus bulb

4

narcissus tallahassee

2

narcissus plant

4

dali metamorphosis narcissus salvador

2

cheri blum narcissus

4

disorder narcissus personality

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Narcissus

Language Translations for "narcissus"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

narcis. (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏نرجس (amaryllis), ‏عاشق ذاته. (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

нарцис. (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

水仙. (various references)

   

Czech

  

narciska, narcis (Daffodil). (various references)

   

Danish

  

nascissus poeticus (daffodil), narcis, pinselilje (daffodil). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

narcis (daffodil). (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

narciso (daffodil). (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

نرگس , جوان رعناءی که عاشق تصویرخودبود. (various references)

   

Finnish

  

narsissi. (various references)

   

French

  

narcisse. (various references)

   

Frisian

  

titelroas (daffodil). (various references)

   

German

  

Narzisse (Daffodil, narcissists). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

νάρκισσοσ (jonquil), νάρκισσος, μανουσάκι (jonquil). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

רקיס. (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

nárcisz (Daffodil, narcissi). (various references)

   

Italian

  

narciso (Daffodil). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

水仙 (daffodil). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

すいせ" (daffodil, faucet, flushing, perpendicular line, recommendation, water tap, waterline). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

수 ". (various references)

   

Manx

  

lus ny ging croymmey. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

arcissusnay.(various references)

   

Portuguese

  

narciso. (various references)

   

Romanian

  

narcis. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

нарцисс (daffodil, jonquil). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

narcis, sunovrat. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

narciso (daff, daffodil, daffodilly). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

påsklilja (daffodil, lent lily), narciss (daffodil). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

nergis (Daffodil, lent lily), zerrin (Daffodil, lent lily), kendine aşık olan adam, fulya (Daffodil, jonquil, lent lily). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

нарсіссус, нарцис. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Narcissus

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

narcissi, narcissus. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Narcissus

LanguageDateSourceRomans Chapter 16, Verse 11
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintAspasasqe hrodiwna ton suggenh mou aspasasqe touV ek twn narkissou touV ontaV en kuriw
Latin405VulgateSalutate eos qui sunt ex Aristoboli salutate Herodionem cognatum meum salutate eos qui sunt ex Narcissi qui sunt in Domino
Old English990West SaxonHalette Herodione, mine mæg.Halette þæm þe on Narcissi huse þe sind in Drihtne.
Middle English1395WyclifGrete wel hem that ben of Aristoblis hous. Grete wel Erodion, my cosyn. Grete wel hem that ben of Narciscies hous, that ben in the Lord.
Renaissance English1526TyndaleSalute Herodion my kynsma. Grete them of the housholde of Narcissus which are in the Lorde.
Jacobean English1611King JamesSalute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.
Victorian English1833WebsterSalute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that are of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.
Basic English1964OgdenGive my love to Herodion, my relation. Say a kind word to those of the house of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Narcissus

LanguageRomans Chapter 16, Verse 11
CebuanoIpangomusta ako sa akong paryenti nga si Herodion. Ipangomusta ako sa mga anaa sa Ginoo nga mga sakop sa banay ni Narciso.
Chinese又 問 我 親 屬 希 羅 天 安 。 問 拿 其 數 家 在 主 裡 的 人 安 。
CroatianPozdravite Herodiona, roðaka moga. Pozdravite Narcisove koji su u Gospodinu.
DanishHilser Herodion, min Frænde! Hilser dem af Narkissus's Hus, som ere i Herren.
DutchGroet Herodion, die van mijn maagschap is. Groet hen, die van het huisgezin van Narcissus zijn, degenen namelijk, die in den Heere zijn.
FinnishTervehdys Herodionille, heimolaiselleni. Tervehdys Narkissuksen perhekuntalaisille, jotka ovat Herrassa.
FrenchSaluez Hérodion, mon parent. Saluez ceux de la maison de Narcisse qui sont dans le Seigneur.
GermanGrüßet Herodian, meinen Gefreundeten. Grüßet, die da sind von des Narzissus Gesinde in dem HERRN.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-haridan kepada Herodion. Ia sesuku bangsa dengan saya. Juga salam kepada saudara-saudara seiman dalam keluarga Narkisus.
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaSalam kepada Herodion, keluargaku itu. Salam kepada orang isi rumah Narkisus, yang di dalam Tuhan.
ItalianSalutate Erodione, mio parente. Salutate quelli della casa di Narcìso che sono nel Signore.
LatvianAristobûla mâjas iemitniekus! Sveiciniet manu radinieku Herodionu! Sveiciniet Narkisa mâjas ïaudis, kas pieder Kungam!
MaoriOha atu ki a Heroriona, ki toku whanaunga. Oha atu ki a Nakihu ma, ki nga mea i roto i te Ariki.
NorwegianHils Herodion, min frende. Hils dem av Narkissus' hus som er i Herren.
PortugueseSaudai a Herodião, meu parente. Saudai aos da casa de Narciso que estão no Senhor.   
RumanianSpuneyi sqnqtate lui Ierodion, ruda mea. -Spuneyi sqnqtate celor din casa lui Narcis, cari sknt ai Domnului. -
ShuarWíishuar Erutiúnsha tura Narsisu shuarsha Kristu shuari ásarmatai amikmaatruawarta.
SwahiliSalamu zangu kwa Herodiana, mwananchi mwenzangu; na kwa jamaa yote ya Narkisi iliyojiunga na Bwana.
SwedishHälsen Herodion, min landsman. Hälsen dem av Narcissus' hus, som äro i Herren.
UmaTabe-ku hi Herodion, hingka to Yahudi-ku. Tabe-ku wo'o hi ompi' -ompi' hampepangalaa' to hi tomi Narkisus.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Narcissus

Derivations

Words beginning with "narcissus": narcissuses. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Narcissus" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: narccisus, narcis, narcises, narcisis, Narciso, narcisos, narciss, narcissee, narcissic, narcissis, narcissise, narcissos, narcissuss, narcisus, Narcizo, narcssis, narcussis, narissus, narkissos. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Narcissus"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "narcissus" (pronounced nÄrsi"sus)
3-s u sacidosis, amniocentesis, analysis, antithesis, apotheosis, archdiocese, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, axis, catharsis, census, cirrhosis, colossus, consensus, crisis, diagnosis, dialysis, diocese, electrolysis, fibrosis, Genesis, geotaxis, glacis, heterosis, homeostasis, hydrolysis, hypnosis, hypothesis, meiosis, metamorphosis, misdiagnosis, morphogenesis, necrosis, nemesis, nephrosis, neurofibromatosis, neurosis, nexus, organogenesis, photosynthesis, phototaxis, plexus, preadolescence, proboscis, prognosis, prosthesis, psoriasis, psychoanalysis, psychokinesis, psychosis, rhesus, sclerosis, symbiosis, synopsis, synthesis, Tarsus, telexes, Texas, thesis, thrombosis, tuberculosis, urinalysis, versus.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Narcissus

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-c-i-n-r-s-s-s-u"

-2 letters: cuirass.

-3 letters: acinus, anuric, cairns, cassis, crasis, crissa, incurs, sarins, sasins, scaurs, uranic.

-4 letters: airns, arcus, arsis, ascus, auric, auris, cains, cairn, carns, casus, crass, curia, curns, incur, incus, narcs, naric, naris, nisus, rains, ranis, risus, ruins, runic, sains, sarin, saris, sasin, scans, scars, scaur, sinus, suras, unais, uncia.

-5 letters: ains, airn, airs, anis.

 Words containing the letters "a-c-i-n-r-s-s-s-u"
 

+2 letters: narcissuses.

 

+3 letters: graciousness, saurischians.

 

+4 letters: atrociousness, customariness, fractiousness, obscurantisms, obscurantists, overissuances, rapaciousness, raunchinesses, veraciousness, vicariousness, voraciousness.

 

+5 letters: avariciousness, capriciousness, chivalrousness, circularnesses, graciousnesses, miraculousness, precariousness, resuscitations, ungraciousness.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern 		5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Quotations: Fiction
8. Quotations: Spoken 		9. Usage Frequency
10. Names: Derived from
11. Names: Company Usage
12. Expressions 		13. Expressions: Internet
14. Translations: Modern
15. Translations: Ancient
16. Bible Trace 		17. Derivations
18. Rhymes
19. Anagrams
20. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.