phaeton's bird
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The swan. Cygnus, son of Apollo, was the friend of Phaeton and lamented his fate so grievously that Apollo changed him into a swan, and placed him among the con- stellations.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “phaeton's bird” mean?
The swan. Cygnus, son of Apollo, was the friend of Phaeton and lamented his fate so grievously that Apollo changed him into a swan, and placed him among the con- stellations.
Is “phaeton's bird” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.