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pyrrhic

 - 6 dictionary results

pyr⋅rhic

1  [pir-ik] Prosody
–adjective
1. consisting of two short or unaccented syllables.
2. composed of or pertaining to pyrrhics.
–noun
3. Also called dibrach. a pyrrhic foot.
Use pyrrhic in a Sentence
Origin:
1620–30; < L pyrrhichius < Gk pyrrhíchios pertaining to the pyrrhíchē pyrrhic 2

pyr⋅rhic

2  [pir-ik]
–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; < L pyrrhicha < Gk pyrrhíchē a dance; said to be named after Pyrrhichus, the inventor

Pyr⋅rhic

  [pir-ik]
–adjective
of, pertaining to, or resembling Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, or his costly victory.
Origin:
1880–85; Pyrrh(us) + -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To pyrrhic
pyr·rhic   (pĭr'ĭk)   
n.  A metrical foot having two short or unaccented syllables.
adj.  Of or characterized by pyrrhics.

[Latin pyrrhicius, from Greek purrikhios, from purrikhē, a war dance, perhaps from Purrikhos, supposed inventor of the dance.]
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

Pyrrhic  (1)
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."

pyrrhic  (2)
"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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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