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ithyphallic

 - 3 dictionary results

ith⋅y⋅phal⋅lic

  [ith-uh-fal-ik]
Use ithyphallic in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the phallus carried in ancient festivals of Bacchus.
2. grossly indecent; obscene.
3. Classical Prosody. noting or pertaining to any of several meters employed in hymns sung in Bacchic processions.
–noun
4. a poem in ithyphallic meter.
5. an indecent poem.
Origin:
1605–15; < LL īthyphallicus < Gk īthyphallikós, equiv. to īthý(s) straight, erect + phall(ós) phallus + -ikos -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ith·y·phal·lic   (ĭth'ə-fāl'ĭk)   
adj.  

  1. Of or relating to the phallus carried in the ancient festival of Bacchus.

  2. Having the penis erect. Used of graphic and sculptural representations.

  3. Lascivious; salacious.


[Late Latin īthyphallicus, from Greek īthuphallikos, from īthuphallos, erect phallus : īthus, straight + phallos, phallus; see bhel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ithyphallic 
1614, "poem in ithyphallic meter," from Gk. ithys "straight" + phallos "erect penis" (see phallus). The meter was that of the Bacchic hymns, which were sung in the rites during which such phalluses were carried. Thus, in Victorian times, the word also meant "grossly indecent" (1864).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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