Word of the Day

: March 21, 2019

hamartia

noun hah-mahr-TEE-uh

What It Means

: a flaw in character that brings about the downfall of the hero of a tragedy : tragic flaw

hamartia in Context

Greed was the hamartia that ultimately brought down the protagonist.

"Characters in Greek tragedies usually had a hamartia, or fatal flaw. Hubris, pride, presumption and arrogance were some of the chief character traits that brought down peasants and emperors alike." — Christine Barnes, The Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat, 6 May 2010

Did You Know?

Hamartia comes from the Greek verb hamartanein, meaning "to miss the mark." Aristotle used the word in his Poetics to refer to the error of judgment which ultimately brings about the tragic hero's downfall. Hamartia in modern use is most at home in literary criticism, but it sees use beyond that sphere as well, as when the Boston Globe’s Christopher L. Gasper wrote in 2024, "The hardball hamartia of the Sox the last two seasons has been the rotation. No other element of the team greater embodies their lack of progress."