The Immortals
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The forty members of the French Academy; also the name given to a body of 10,000 foot-soldiers, which constituted the bodyguard of the ancient Persian kings, and to other highly trained troops.
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 “The Immortals” mean?
The forty members of the French Academy; also the name given to a body of 10,000 foot-soldiers, which constituted the bodyguard of the ancient Persian kings, and to other highly trained troops.
Is “The Immortals” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.