Word of the Day

Friday September 03, 2010

myrmidon [MUR-muh-don; -duhn]

noun

(Capitalized) A member of a fierce tribe or troop who accompained Achilles, their king, to the Trojan war.
A loyal follower who executes their master’s orders without question or protest.

This will be a bailout of the pension plans of what they're calling "public sector unions." These are government employee unions. The word "public" is being used because the average myrmidon will mutter to themselves: "Public! Why that's us! They're doing something for the public!" Nonsense, they're doing something for themselves.

Neal Boortz, "Musings on things that really bug me", The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, May 22, 2010
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Greek merchant family, Cavafy might be said to have led a double life twice-over: a Greek citizen and native speaker who was a lifelong denizen of the colonial city of his birth, and a myrmidon clerk in the Ministry of Public Works who produced one of the most magisterial oeuvres in modern poetry when he was off the clock.

David Barber, "Lines about living; Three poets defy simple pigeonholing, crossing cultures, literary traditions, and centuries", Boston Globe, Jun 7, 2009
Suddenly it seemed as if all the young men had begun to take an interest in Lizzie, an', to tell the truth, she was about the neatest, sweetest little myrmidon of commerce that ever wore a white apron.

Irving Bacheller (1859 - 1950) An American journalist and writer. Keeping up with Lizzie (1910)

Origin of the Word

Myrmidon, approximately 1400, derives from Latin Myrmidones (plural), from Greek Myrmidones, Thessalian tribe led by Achilles to the Trojan War.