Pygmalion

See also: pygmalion

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Πυγμαλίων (Pugmalíōn), from Phoenician 𐤐𐤏𐤌𐤉𐤕𐤍 (pʿmytn /⁠puġ‘mayaton⁠/), from Phoenician 𐤐𐤌𐤉𐤉𐤕𐤍 (pmyytn /⁠pumayyaton⁠/, “Pumay has given”), from Phoenician 𐤐𐤌𐤉 (pmy, “Pumay”) + Phoenician 𐤉𐤕𐤍 (ytn /⁠yaton⁠/, “to give”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɪɡˈmeɪliən/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Proper noun

Pygmalion

  1. (Greek mythology) A legendary sculptor who was granted the wish of having life given to a sculpture of his which he fell deeply in love with.
    • 2026 July 25, Carmody Grey, “AI’s quest for morality”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:
      It dawned on me that they [Anthropic] were under a kind of enchantment. Like Pygmalion, they had fallen in love with their own creation.

Derived terms

Noun

Pygmalion (plural Pygmalions)

  1. Alternative form of pygmalion (“one who acts in a way reminiscent of the sculptor”).

Anagrams

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