hermes Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun (Greek mythology) messenger and herald of the gods; god of commerce and cunning and invention and theft; identified with Roman Mercury

L., fr. Gr. .

(Myth.) See Mercury. ✍ Hermes Trismegistus Gr. 'Ermh^s trisme`gistos, lit., Hermes thrice greatest was a late name of Hermes, especially as identified with the Egyptian god Thoth. He was the fabled inventor of astrology and alchemy.
(Archæology) Originally, a boundary stone dedicated to Hermes as the god of boundaries, and therefore bearing in some cases a head, or head and shoulders, placed upon a quadrangular pillar whose height is that of the body belonging to the head, sometimes having feet or other parts of the body sculptured upon it. These figures, though often representing Hermes, were used for other divinities, and even, in later times, for portraits of human beings. Called also herma. See Terminal statue, under Terminal.