Laocoon

See also: Laocoön

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la.o.ko.ɔ̃/

Proper noun

Laocoon m

1. (Greek mythology) Laocoön

Latin

Alternative forms

• Laucoōn

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Λαοκόων (Laokóōn).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /laːˈo.ko.oːn/, [ɫ̪äːˈɔkoːn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /laˈo.ko.on/, [läˈɔːkoːn]

Proper noun

Lāocoōn m sg (genitive Lāocoontis); third declension

1. (Greek mythology) name of a mythical character; Laocoön who was attacked by giant serpents
   • 1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Talisman, pages 80-81:

     He forthwith mentioned the wonderful charm in his custody, dwelt upon its merits till he grew quite eloquent, and finally desired the youth to follow him to the inner room, where it hung. It was a small dark chamber, crowded with articles for sale; but, whether from accident or design, the curiosities were all of a wild and ghastly kind. In the middle was a cast of the Laocoon, the wretched father and his children writhing in the folds of the terrible serpents: cruel must have been the eye and heart of the sculptor who thus made agony his triumph.

Usage notes

• Sometimes spelled Lāocoön, with a diaeresis.

Declension

Third-declension noun, singular only.

	singular
nominative	Lāocoōn
genitive	Lāocoontis
dative	Lāocoontī
accusative	Lāocoontem
ablative	Lāocoonte
vocative	Lāocoōn

References

• “Laocoon”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Laocoon in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 886.