Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A wood nymph who was changed into a fountain by Artemis.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin Arethūsa, from Greek Arethousa.]

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Examples

  • Now Miss Eliza had unfortunately heard the conversation and the kiss and the slap and the dismissal of Timothy, from inside the sitting-room; and she had called Arethusa into her after the rejected suitor had fled and outdone even herself in the quality of her scolding.

    The Heart of Arethusa Francis Barton Fox

  • And he poked his slender cane so deep in between the bricks of the old-fashioned sidewalk of this conservative neighborhood that it was wrenched out of his hand and stood there quivering, and in his pre-occupation with the idea of Arethusa he had gone on without it before he realized.

    The Heart of Arethusa Francis Barton Fox

  • The fountain of Arethusa, which issues forth in the ward of Ortygia (the present Syracuse), in antiquity was sweet but since an earthquake of the twelfth century has become salt.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913

  • If the Psyche had been a reprieve the Arethusa was a pardon.

    The Autobiography of a Journalist Stillman, William James, 1828-1901 1901

  • Here is one of those reports from a year 6 student: In October 2009, 40 children from year 6 went to an activity centre called Arethusa, myself included.

    unknown title 2009

  • Here is one of those reports from a year 6 student: In October 2009, 40 children from year 6 went to an activity centre called Arethusa, myself included.

    unknown title 2009

  • The Nydia was started with the idea of presenting the helplessness of blindness, with a hint of the exaltation of the other senses that is consequent upon the loss of sight, and showed at first merely a girl groping along a wall in search of a door; and the Arethusa was the outgrowth of a general inspiration caused by a reading of Spenser's Faerie Queen, and did not receive its present very appropriate name until its exhibition made some designation necessary.

    The Bay State Monthly — Volume 1, No. 6, June, 1884 Various

  • Among these, the foremost in excellence is the "Arethusa," a composition on which the singing of Incledon, and the bold, reckless, original John-Bull-like character of the air by Shield, or ascribed to him, have fixed a high reputation.

    The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 397, November 7, 1829 Various

  • "Arethusa," she demanded, "don't you think I know every bit as much about clothes as Miss Eliza?"

    The Heart of Arethusa Francis Barton Fox

  • "Arethusa" touched the quay as I spoke, and there was a great bustle on deck, no doubt landing the Prince's motor, which had stood concealed on the forward deck under an enormous tarpaulin.

    My Friend the Chauffeur Frederic [Illustrator] Lowenheim 1901

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