PENELOPE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Penelope mean? 

• PENELOPE (noun)
  The noun PENELOPE has 2 senses:

1. (Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them

2. a genus of guans (turkey-like arboreal birds valued as game and food birds)

  Familiarity information: PENELOPE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PENELOPE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

mythical being (an imaginary being of myth or fable)

Domain category:

Greek mythology (the mythology of the ancient Greeks)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A genus of guans (turkey-like arboreal birds valued as game and food birds)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

genus Penelope; Penelope

Hypernyms ("Penelope" is a kind of...):

bird genus (a genus of birds)

Holonyms ("Penelope" is a member of...):

Cracidae; family Cracidae (curassows; guans; chachalacas)

 Context examples 

Well, my dear Penelope, you need not be so alarmed about him.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Penelope, my dear, can you help me to the name of the gentleman who lived at Monkford: Mrs Croft's brother?

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)