Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » Hermes Trismegistus

Hermes Trismegistus

(tris′mə jis′təs)

legendary ancient Egyptian author of a body of esoteric writings of the 1st-3rd cent. on cosmogony, the soul, magic, etc.

Origin: Gr, Thoth < Hermēs trismegistos, lit., Hermes the thrice greatest: the Greeks identified Thoth with Hermes

See Hermes Trismegistus in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
Mythology

Hermes as identified with the Egyptian god Thoth, the legendary author of works on alchemy, astrology, and magic.

Origin:

Origin: Medieval Latin Hermēs Trismegistus

Origin: , from Greek Hermēs trismegistos

Origin: : Hermēs, Hermes

Origin: + trismegistos, thrice greatest (tris, thrice; see trei- in Indo-European roots + megistos, greatest; see meg- in Indo-European roots)

link/cite print suggestion box

More from YD