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Amazon. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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Amazon in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English, from Latin, from Ancient Greek Ἀμαζών (Amazṓn); perhaps Ionian Greek pronunciation of Old Persian *hamazan- (“warrior”), as the Amazon women were known warriors. A popular folk etymology, of Ancient Greek provenance, claims that the word derives from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μαζός (mazós, “breast”), referencing the belief that Amazons cut off their right breast so that it would not hinder their ability to fire a bow or throw a spear. Compare Bulgarian омъ́жена (omǎ́žena, "married woman") неомъ́жена (neomǎ́žena, "unmarried woman" ).
Noun
Amazon (plural Amazons)
- (Greek mythology) A member of a mythical race of female warriors inhabiting the Black Sea area.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 149:When, therefore, one envisions a matriarchy, one should not conjure up visions of a gang of Amazons lopping off breasts and testicles to rule by force of arms.
- A female warrior.
- A tall, strong, or athletic woman.
Translations
Mythological female warrior
See also
Etymology 2
From Spanish, Río Amazonas. It is common belief that the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana fought a battle against a tribe of Tapuya natives, in which the women fought alongside the men, and that he derived the name from the Amazons in Greek mythology.
Proper noun
the Amazon
- (sometimes attributive) A river in South America that flows through Brazil for about 4000 miles to the South Atlantic.
- (sometimes attributive) A region including much of this river; specifically, the region of the Amazon Rainforest, or of the Amazon River Basin.
- Amazon milk frog
Derived terms
Translations
region of the Amazon rainforest
— see Amazonia
used attributively in compounds
Noun
Amazon (plural Amazons)
- Any of the large parrots from the genus Amazona.
Etymology 3
Chosen by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as a word beginning with 'A' which had existing connotations (see meanings listed in etymologies 1 & 2) of being exotic, different, and (as the Amazon River) the largest of its kind in the world.
Proper noun
Amazon
- Amazon.com Inc., a very large Internet retailer.
Verb
Amazon (third-person singular simple present Amazons, present participle Amazoning, simple past and past participle Amazoned)
- (transitive) To overwhelm or obliterate, in the context of an Internet start-up vastly outperforming its brick and mortar competition.
1999 Aug, Andrew Wileman, “Smart cookies: Get set to Amazon”, in Management Today, page 79:Venture capitalists' desks are thick with business plans promising ‘we're going to Amazon the insurance/travel/property business...’
- 1999, Tim Smith, InternetWeek (786), "Getting Customers Totally Integrated – Cisco CIO Pete Solvik", 1999-10-25, p. 98
- Take the example of MetalSite.com, which is owned by steel companies. The steel companies aren't getting "Amazoned" by a start-up but, rather, they are doing the "Amazoning" within their own industry.
- 1999, "Amazon Expands", InternetWeek (789), 1999-11-15, p. 11
- Amazon.com may soon be "amazoning" a few more industries.
2001 July 4, Saul Hansell, “Web Sales of Airline Tickets Are Making Hefty Advances”, in The New York Times, page A1:In other industries, established companies are pulling people and money away from their Internet operations, as their fear of being "Amazoned" by start-ups has subsided.
2002 June 30, Scott Harris, “Roots in Israel, Head in Silicon Valley”, in The New York Times, page B8:"Everybody was afraid of getting Amazoned," Mr. Landan said. "They didn't want to get left behind."
References
- ^ Ann Byers, Jeff Bezos: the founder of amazon.com, pp. 46-7, Rosen Publishing Group, 2007, →ISBN
Finnish
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ἀμαζών (Amazṓn).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Amazon
- Amazon (river)
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
Japanese
Romanization
Amazon
- Rōmaji transcription of アマゾン
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ἀμαζών (Amazṓn)
Pronunciation
Noun
Amāzōn f (genitive Amāzonis); third declension
- an Amazon
- a female warrior
Declension
Third-declension noun (Greek-type, normal variant).
References
- “Amazon”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “Amazon”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- Amazon in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 109/3.