PYRRHIC
pyrrhic
(adjective) of or relating to or resembling Pyrrhus or his exploits (especially his sustaining staggering losses in order to defeat the Romans); “a Pyrrhic victory”
pyrrhic
(adjective) of or relating to or containing a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables; “pyrrhic verses”
pyrrhic
(adjective) of or relating to a war dance of ancient Greece; “pyrrhic dance movements”
pyrrhic
(noun) an ancient Greek dance imitating the motions of warfare
pyrrhic, dibrach
(noun) a metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed syllables
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
From Pyrrhus (318-272 BC), a king of Epirus whose forces sustained heavy losses in defeating the Romans.
Adjective
Pyrrhic (comparative more Pyrrhic, superlative most Pyrrhic)
(uncomparable) Of or relating to Pyrrhus (319/318–272 BC), Greek general and statesman.
Achieved at too great a cost or detriment to have been worthwhile (as a victory, accomplishment, etc).
Etymology
Adjective
pyrrhic (not comparable)
(prosody) Of or characterized by pyrrhics (metrical feet with two short syllables).
Relating to Pyrrhus, a Macedonian king, or some of his costly victories he had while fighting Rome.
Alternative letter-case form of Pyrrhic (“achieved at too great a cost”)
Noun
pyrrhic (plural pyrrhics)
An Ancient Greek war dance.
(prosody) A metric foot with two short or unaccented syllables.
Source: Wiktionary
Pyr"rhic, a. Etym: [L. pyrrhichius, Gr.
1. Of or pertaining to an ancient Greek martial dance. " ye have the pyrrhic dance as yet." Byron.
2. (Pros.)
Definition: Of or pertaining to a pyrrhic, or to pyrrhics; containing pyrrhic; as, a pyrrhic verse.
Pyr"rhic, n.
1. Etym: [Gr. pyrrhique, fem.]
Definition: An ancient Greek martial dance, to the accompaniment of the flute, its time being very quick.
2. Etym: [L. pyrrhichius (sc. pes), Gr. pyrrhique, masc.] (Pros.)
Definition: A foot consisting of two short syllables.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
5 January 2025
PTEROSAUR
(noun) an extinct reptile of the Jurassic and Cretaceous having a bird-like beak and membranous wings supported by the very long fourth digit of each forelimb
Do you know this game?
Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins