| English Dictionary |
PROTEAN
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| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does protean mean?
• PROTEAN (adjective)
The adjective PROTEAN has 1 sense:
1. taking on different forms
Familiarity information: PROTEAN used as an adjective is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Taking on different forms
Context example:
eyes...of that baffling protean grey which is never twice the same
Similar:
variable (liable to or capable of change)
Derivation:
Proteus ((Greek mythology) a prophetic god who served Poseidon; was capable of changing his shape at will)
Context examples
The eyes themselves were of that baffling protean grey which is never twice the same; which runs through many shades and colourings like intershot silk in sunshine; which is grey, dark and light, and greenish-grey, and sometimes of the clear azure of the deep sea.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"The nose didn't smell the rotting head." (Bhutanese proverb)
"If the water is available you need not clean up with sand." (Arabic proverb)
"Through falls and stumbles, one learns to walk." (Corsican proverb)