Cyclops

How to spell cyclops

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce cyclops

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does cyclops mean?

1. nounA mythological giant with a single eye in the centre of its forehead.

Cyclops in a sentence

• The museum exhibit described how the cyclops trapped sailors in a cave.

• In the old legend, a clever traveller blinded the cyclops to escape.

Where does cyclops come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word comes from the Greek Kyklops, a name that literally means 'round-eyed' or 'circle-eyed', formed from kyklos meaning 'circle' or 'wheel' and ops meaning 'eye' or 'face'. In Greek mythology the Cyclopes were a race of one-eyed giants, the most famous being Polyphemus, who imprisoned Odysseus and his crew in Homer's Odyssey. The Romans borrowed the term as Cyclops, and it passed into English through Latin during the 1500s, keeping its single staring eye at the centre of its meaning. The same kyklos root still spins through everyday words such as 'cycle', 'bicycle', and 'cyclone', which is a handy reminder that the word begins with 'cy' and not 'si'. The plural in classical usage is Cyclopes, though 'cyclopses' is sometimes seen in casual modern writing.

How the word is built

• cycl- (from Greek kyklos: circle, wheel)
• -ops (from Greek ops: eye, face)