Procrustes

Procrustes
Procrustes Pro*crus"tes, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to beat out, to stretch; ? forward + ? to strike.] (Gr. Antiq.) A celebrated legendary highwayman of Attica, who tied his victims upon an iron bed, and, as the case required, either stretched or cut of their legs to adapt them to its length; -- whence the metaphorical phrase,

{the bed of Procrustes}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • PROCRUSTES — latro insignis in Attica regione ad Cephisum fluv. habitans, qui cogebat hospites super lectum aliquem ascendere, quô si longiores tuissent, pars supereminens amputabatur: qui vero breviores, distendebantur; a qua re etiam nomen illi inditum… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Procrustes — Procrustes, 1) s. Prokrustes; 2) so v.w. Lederkäfer …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Procrustes — [prō krus′tēz] n. [L < Gr Prokroustēs < prokrouein, to beat out, stretch out < pro , PRO 1 + krouein, to strike: see RUE1] Gr. Myth. a giant of Attica who seizes travelers, ties them to a bedstead, and either stretches them or cuts off… …   English World dictionary

  • Procrustes — Damastes redirects here. See also Huntsman spider. For the Larry Niven story, see Procrustes (short story). Theseus and Procrustes, Attic red figure neck amphora, 570–560 BC, Staatliche Antikensammlungen (Inv. 2325) In Greek mythology Pr …   Wikipedia

  • Procrustes — Procruste Note : cet article traite de l insecte coléoptère nommé procruste, pour le personnage de la mythologie grecque, voir Procuste. Procruste …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Procrustes — /proh krus teez/, n. Class. Myth. a robber who stretched or amputated the limbs of travelers to make them conform to the length of his bed. He was killed by Theseus. Also called Damastes. * * * ▪ Greek mythological figure also called  Polypemon,… …   Universalium

  • Procrustes's Bed —    Procrustes, in Greek legend, was a brigand, a highwayman, who lived near Attica and lured travelers into his roadside home by offering them a bed for the night. Procrustes amused himself by forcing these travelers to lie on his iron bed and be …   Dictionary of eponyms

  • Procrustes' bed — Procrustes bed, anything with which people or things are forced to conform, especially by violent and arbitrary means: »It is becoming increasingly necessary to find some way of breaking out of the Procrustes bed that the British press has got… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Procrustes (story) — Procrustes is an English language science fiction short story written in 1994 by Larry Niven. It is the sixth in the series of stories about crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in Crashlander , Larry Niven, New… …   Wikipedia

  • Procrustes analysis — In statistics, Procrustes analysis is a form of statistical shape analysis used to analyse the distribution of a set of shapes. The name Procrustes refers to a bandit from Greek mythology who made his victims fit his bed either by stretching… …   Wikipedia

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