Definitions

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

  • noun An ancient Egyptian god of the underworld who combined characteristics of Osiris and Apis and was also worshiped in ancient Greece and Rome.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The Roman name of a deity of Egyptian origin whose worship was officially promoted under the Ptolemies, and was introduced into Greece and Rome.
  • noun In conchology, a genus of gastropods.
  • noun In entomology, a genus of hymenopterous insects.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Myth.) An Egyptian deity, at first a symbol of the Nile, and so of fertility; later, one of the divinities of the lower world. His worship was introduced into Greece and Rome.

Etymologies

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

[Latin Sarāpis, Serāpis, from Greek Sarāpis, from Egyptian wsrj-ḥp : wsrj, Osiris; see Osiris + ḥp, Apis.]

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Examples

  • Near the Pantheon there is a pair of obelisks which were brought from the East, and stood together before the temple of Isis and Serapis, which is supposed to have been situated on the site of the Dominican

    Roman Mosaics Or, Studies in Rome and Its Neighbourhood Hugh Macmillan

  • The doctrines which the sages had associated with the idea of Serapis, debased and degraded by the most contemptible trivialities; lost all their worth and dignity; and after the great

    Complete Project Gutenberg Georg Ebers Works Georg Ebers 1867

  • The Serapis was a frigate of fifty guns, more than half of which individually exceeded in calibre any one gun of the Richard.

    Israel Potter Herman Melville 1855

  • "Serapis" and the "Countess," and a terrible conflict took place between the former and the "Bon Homme Richard," a two-decker, carrying forty guns, and which was Paul Jones's own ship.

    The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. From George III. to Victoria Edward Farr

  • His great object this year was to intercept the Baltic trade, which was under the convoy of Captain Pearson, in the ship "Serapis," of forty guns, and

    The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. From George III. to Victoria Edward Farr

  • Almost every man on the quarter or main-decks of the "Serapis" was killed or wounded by the united fire of the enemy; and the calamity was increased by the accidental ignition of a cartridge of powder near one of the lower deck-ports, and the flames spreading from cartridge to cartridge all the way aft, blew up the whole of the officers and people that were quartered abaft the mainmast.

    The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. From George III. to Victoria Edward Farr

  • The two ships were brought into such a situation that the muzzles of their guns came in contact, and in this manner the action continued with the greatest fury for two hours, during which time Jones, who had far more men than his opponent, vainly attempted to board, and the "Serapis" was set on fire ten or twelve times.

    The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. From George III. to Victoria Edward Farr

  • Then I caught a glimpse of the quartermaster whirling the spokes of our wheel, and over went our helm to lay us athwart the forefoot of the 'Serapis', where we might rake and rush her decks.

    Richard Carvel — Complete Winston Churchill 1909

  • 'Serapis', while a little different arrangement might have been better for the medium of the narrative.

    Richard Carvel — Complete Winston Churchill 1909

  • An instant after an explosion came like a, clap of thunder in our faces, and a great quadrant of light flashed as high as the 'Serapis's' trucks, and through a breach in her bulwarks I saw men running with only the collars of their shirts upon their naked bodies.

    Richard Carvel — Complete Winston Churchill 1909

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