ganymede

< /ˌgæn əˈmi diz/. Classical Mythology. a Trojan youth who was abducted by Zeus and taken to Olympus, where he was made the cupbearer of the gods and became immortal.

Astronomy. the largest moon of the planet Jupiter.

noun

1. classical myth a beautiful Trojan youth who was abducted by Zeus to Olympus and made the cupbearer of the gods

noun

1. the brightest and largest of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter, and the largest in the solar system. Diameter: 5262 km; orbital radius: 1 070 000 km

Trojan youth whom Zeus made his cup-bearer, from Greek Ganymedes, literally “rejoicing in his virility,” from ganymai “I rejoice, am glad” + medea (plural) “counsels, plans, cunning” (see Medea), but here taken by many to mean “genitals.” Used figuratively of serving-boys (c.1600) and catamites (1590s).

1. One of the four brightest satellites of Jupiter and the seventh in distance from the planet. Originally sighted by Galileo, it is the largest satellite in the solar system.