myrmidon

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When the quarrel had become hot between Mrs Van and her late myrmidon, Clara fell into

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Definitions (6)

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  1. One of a warlike ancient Greek people of Phthiotis in Thessaly, over whom, according to the legend, Achilles ruled, and who accompanied him to Troy.
  2. [lowercase] A devoted and unquestioning or unscrupulous follower; one who executes without scruple his master's commands.
  3. Myrmidons of the law bailiffs, sheriffs' officers, policemen, and other inferior administrative officers of the law. [Colloquial] I found all these household treasures in possession of the myrmidons of the law. Thackeray.

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Examples (50)

  • There will be a lot on display depending on how he gets treated by Hillary's most loyal myrmidon. —  A Word to the Wise - A Townhall.com user blog
  • Was it Mr Slow, or a myrmidon from Mr Slow's legal abode? —  Miss Mackenzie
  • He turned to his myrmidon: "Get a move on you, Herbert; it's a bit parky standing about here After all he was but a coarse fellow Herbert, galvanised into action, produced a small oblong object from his pocket, lighted the end of it with the glowing butt of one of my Corona Coronas, and placed it underneath the car. —  Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, November 21, 1917
  • Duhaut's myrmidon, l'Archevкque, was absent, hunting, and Hiens was for killing him on his return; but the two priests and Joutel succeeded in dissuading him The Indian spectators beheld these murders with undisguised amazement, and almost with horror. —  France and England in North America; a Series of Historical Narratives — Part 3
  • That the solitary boat which was pulling towards them in the dusk of the evening contained some one who might aid the attorney and his myrmidon, all believed, though in what manner none could tell Between all seamen and the ministers of the law there is a long-standing antipathy, for the visits of the latter are usually so timed as to leave nothing between the alternatives of paying or of losing a voyage. —  Homeward Bound or, the Chase
 

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Etymologies (1)

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  1. = French myrmidon, from Latin Myrmidones, from Greek Μυρμιδόνες, a warlike people of Thessaly, singular Μυρμιδών (see def. 1).
 

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/ˈmərmɪdɑn/
by Erin McKean

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