caduceus
1
9.9
- noun
- /kəˈduːsiəs/
- Literature
:
caduceo
- Hermes, Lord Mercury, touched Helen with the silver caduceus staff he carried.
- caduceus symbol
Examples
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Caduceus symbols shining from the back of the van.
Fiction book (1999) -
posted by Caduceus at 11:44 PM on November 4, 2008.
Blog text (13) -
Now just click on the caduceus and all will be made clear.
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The Caduceus is found in the first tablet, a staff with two serpents.
Blog text (19) -
The caduceus entwined with two serpents stands for the two forms of ownership of the fields that lie at the heart of all conflicts during the early phases of history.
Academic text (2005) -
His left hand holds a golden staff, his kerykeion (or caduceus), which resembles the staves carried by Ares.
Academic text (2008) -
The Caduceus has two snakes twined around a rod with wings at the top of the rod and was the staff of Hermes; it is the symbol of commerce, not medicine.
Blog text (33) -
Mercury, god of commerce, with his winged cap and sandals and caduceus, hands a bag of gold to Robert Morris, financier of the Revolutionary War, while men move a box on a dolly.
Blog text (8) -
Paul and Dustie's dual guitars wrapped around one another with the majesty of the Caduceus, and Blake's drumming resounded in my chest as it never could on record.
Blog text (29) -
The caduceus, featuring two snakes entwined around a staff, is often seen on medical logos.
Synonyms
A staff with a snake that stands for medicine and healing
A staff carried by messengers in ancient Greece with two snakes and wings as a sign of authority
Surface Forms
Etymology
Caduceus comes from the Greek word kērykeion, which means 'herald's staff' or the stick a 'messenger' carries, and it belonged to the messenger god Hermes, so it is pictured with two snakes and wings. That's why the caduceus looks like a winged staff with two snakes and is often used as a medical symbol, even though the true healing sign has only one snake.