Link Centre Dictionary

Charon

cha·ron

UK/ˈkɛəɹɒn/ US/ˈkɛːrən/ rare

noun

1.

(Greek mythology) the ferryman who brought the souls of the dead across the river Styx or the river Acheron to Hades

Origin

From Latin Charōn, from Ancient Greek Χάρων (Khárōn). The name of the moon was coined by American astronomer James W. Christy in 1978, in reference to a fictional moon of Pluto in a novel by Edmond Hamilton but also influenced by its similarity to Char, a pet name for Charlene, his wife's name - hence the alternative American pronunciation, which is used at NASA.

Phrases

  • Charon's obol

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.