means A mythical bird that bursts into flame at the end of its life and rises reborn from its own ashes; by extension, anything or anyone that makes a triumphant comeback after apparent ruin.

from From Greek 'phoinix,' a word that did double duty for the fabled fire-bird, the color crimson-purple, and the date palm — a tangle of meanings that may trace back to Phoenicia, the land Greeks associated with that purple dye. The Greeks likely borrowed the legend from Egyptian myth, where the Bennu, a heron-like solar bird tied to rebirth and the rising sun, played a similar role. It reached English through Latin 'phoenix,' which is why the bird's name still smells faintly of ancient dye, sunrise, and ash.