Promethean

From Prometheus (a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and gave them fire, for which he was punished by Zeus), from Ancient Greek Προμηθεύς (Promētheús) from προμηθής (promēthḗs, “having forethought”) from προ- (pro-, “before”) + μανθάνω (manthánō, “learn, perceive”) (from Proto-Indo-European *mn̥(s)-dʰh₁-, from *men- + *dʰeh₁-, thus "to put one's mind".)

Promethean (comparative more Promethean, superlative most Promethean)

1. Of or pertaining to Prometheus.
   • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion‎:

     More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel.

2. Daringly original; boldly inventive or creative.
3. Of enormous size or strength; extraordinarily strong.
4. (of a Romantic literary hero) Rebelling (or being a rebel) against a larger order; defying traditional moral categories; persecuted but dauntless.

Promethean (plural Prometheans)

1. One who acts in a Promethean manner.
2. A glass tube containing sulfuric acid and an inflammable mixture.
3. (historical) A kind of lucifer match.

• heptameron, thermopane