Ozymandias

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ὀσυμανδύας (Osumandúas), from Demotic wsr-mꜣꜥ.t-rꜥ, smn-rꜥ, ns-mn-rꜥ, from Egyptian wsr-mꜣꜥt-rꜥ, the first part of the throne name of pharaoh Ramesses II. Modern usage derives from the poem Ozymandias, about a proud king whose empire and memory have long since crumbled into obscurity, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and inspired by Diodorus Siculus's description of a colossal statue in the Ramesseum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɒziˈmændiəs/
• Rhymes: -ændiəs

Noun

Ozymandias (plural Ozymandiases)

1. A person once famous and respected who has since been utterly forgotten.
   • 2013, Will Self, quoted in The Guardian: "Falling short: seven writers reflect on failure" [1]

     An unavoidable sequel of the posterity delusion is the death of the writerly self, which depends too much on incoherence and inconsistency to remain pompous for long. And of course, the vast majority of today's mummified immortals are tomorrow's Ozymandiases.

Coordinate terms

• Ramesses

 

Derived terms

• Ozymandian