Word
argus
Phoneticsar·gus
/ˈɑɹɡəs/
Definition
n. a person who watches everything very carefully and notices every detail. It comes from a giant in Greek stories who had one hundred eyes.
n. a vigilant or sharp-eyed guardian. Derived from the mythological Greek giant Argus Panoptes, who possessed one hundred eyes, the term describes an observer who is exceptionally alert or difficult to deceive.
Examples
“The security guard was a real argus during the night shift.”
“The editor acted as an argus, catching every small typo and formatting error in the long manuscript.”
“In an era of digital surveillance, the state often functions as a modern argus, maintaining a constant and unblinking watch over the private data of its citizens.”
Examples
simple
“The security guard was a real argus during the night shift.”
contextual
“The editor acted as an argus, catching every small typo and formatting error in the long manuscript.”
complex
“In an era of digital surveillance, the state often functions as a modern argus, maintaining a constant and unblinking watch over the private data of its citizens.”
Usage
Often used as a metaphor or in literary contexts; frequently capitalised when referring directly to the mythological figure.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ἄργος (Árgos).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/argus