Nearby Words
adjective
1.
consisting of two short or unaccented syllables.
2.
composed of or pertaining to pyrrhics.
noun
3.
Also called dibrach. a pyrrhic foot.
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Pyrrhic
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Origin:
1620–30; < Latin pyrrhichius < Greek pyrrhíchios pertaining to the pyrrhíchē pyrrhic2
1620–30; < Latin pyrrhichius < Greek pyrrhíchios pertaining to the pyrrhíchē pyrrhic2
Example Sentences
- In due time, the victories of nationalists may prove of pyrrhic type: their ethnically pure fiefdoms dying out slowly.
- And often, the costs of defense can be high and the legal victories can be pyrrhic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
an ancient Greek warlike dance in which the motions of actual warfare were imitated.
adjective
2.
of, pertaining to, or denoting this dance.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin pyrrhicha < Greek pyrrhíchē a dance; said to be named after Pyrrhichus, the inventor
1590–1600; < Latin pyrrhicha < Greek pyrrhíchē a dance; said to be named after Pyrrhichus, the inventor
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Pyrrhic
Collins
| Pyrrhus (ˈpɪrəs) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | 319--272 |
| 2. | another name for Neoptolemus |
| 'Pyrrhic | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
Pyrrhic
1885, from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who defeated Roman armies at Asculum, 280 B.C.E., but at such cost to his own troops that he was unable to follow up and attack Rome itself, and is said to have remarked, "one more such victory and we are lost."
EXPANDpyrrhic
"dance in armor" (1597), also a type of metrical foot (1626), from L. pyrrhicha, from Gk. pyrrikhe orkhesis, the war-dance of ancient Greece, traditionally named for its inventor, Pyrrikhos. The name lit. means "reddish," from pyrros "flame-colored," from pyr "fire" (see pyre).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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