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sapphic

 - 4 dictionary results

Sap⋅phic

  [saf-ik]
Use sapphic in a Sentence
–adjective
1. pertaining to Sappho or to certain meters or a form of strophe or stanza used by or named after her.
2. Lesbian (def. 2).
–noun
3. a Sapphic verse.
Origin:
1495–1505; < L sapphicus < Gk sapphikós, equiv. to Sapph() Sappho + -ikos -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sapphic
Sap·phic   (sāf'ĭk)   
adj.  

  1. Of or relating to the Greek poet Sappho.

    1. Of, relating to, or being an Aeolic verse of 11 syllables, consisting of a first part of 4 syllables, a central choriamb, and a final part of 3 syllables.

    2. Relating to or being a stanza of three such verses followed by a verse consisting of a dactyl followed by a spondee or trochee.

    3. Relating to or being an ode made up of such stanzas.

    4. Of, relating to, or being a verse, stanza, or poem in accentual meter composed in imitation of Sapphic quantitative verse.

  3. often sapphic Of or relating to lesbianism.

n.  A Sapphic meter, verse, stanza, or ode.
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

Sapphic 
1501, from Fr. saphique, from L. Sapphicus, from Gk. Sapphikos "of Sappho," in ref. to Sappho, poetess of the isle of Lesbos c.600 B.C.E. Especially in reference to her characteristic meters; sense of "pertaining to sexual relations between women" is from 1890 (see lesbian).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: sap·phic
Pronunciation: 'saf-ik
Function: adjective or noun
: LESBIAN
Sapápho /'saf-(")O/ (fl ca 610 BC–ca 580 BC), Greek lyric poet. Sappho was the leading spirit of a coterie offemale poets on the Aegean isle of Lesbos. Because of the homosexual themes in her poetry, she herself has traditionally been regarded as homosexual.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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