Penelope

noun

Pe·nel·o·pe | \pə-ˈne-lə-pē

\

Definition of Penelope

: the wife of Odysseus who waits faithfully for him during his 20 years' absence

Did You Know?

In the Odyssey, Penelope waits 20 long years for her husband Odysseus to return from Troy. During that time, she must raise their son and fend off the attentions of numerous rough suitors. She preserves herself for a long time by saying she cannot remarry until she has finished weaving a funeral shroud for her aging father-in-law; however, what she weaves each day she secretly unravels each night. A Penelope thus appears to be the perfect, patient, faithful wife (and may be using her clever intelligence to keep herself that way).

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about Penelope

Dictionary Entries near Penelope

Statistics for Penelope

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for Penelope

The first known use of Penelope was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

WORD OF THE DAY

rebuff

to reject or criticize sharply

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Roman Mythology Quiz

Boreal comes from the name of the ancient Greek god of which wind?

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games