Definition of Pyrrhic

1. Noun. A metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed syllables.

Exact synonyms: Dibrach
Generic synonyms: Foot, Metrical Foot, Metrical Unit

2. Adjective. Of or relating to a war dance of ancient Greece. "Pyrrhic dance movements"

3. Noun. An ancient Greek dance imitating the motions of warfare.

4. Adjective. Of or relating to or containing a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables. "Pyrrhic verses"

5. 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"
Partainyms: Pyrrhus
Derivative terms: Pyrrhus

Definition of Pyrrhic

1. a. Of or pertaining to an ancient Greek martial dance.

2. n. An ancient Greek martial dance, to the accompaniment of the flute, its time being very quick.

Definition of Pyrrhic

1. Adjective. achieved at excessive cost ¹

2. Adjective. (prosody) Of or characterized by pyrrhics. ¹

3. Adjective. (prosody) Relating to Pyrrhus, a Macedonian king, or some of his costly victories he had while fighting Rome. ¹

4. Noun. An Ancient Greek war dance. ¹

5. Noun. (prosody) A metric foot with two short or unaccented syllables. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Pyrrhic

1. a type of metrical foot [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Pyrrhic

pyroxenite
pyroxenites
pyroxenitic
pyroxenoid
pyroxenoids
pyroxferroite
pyroxferroites
pyroxmangite
pyroxyle
pyroxyles
pyroxylic
pyroxylin
pyroxyline
pyroxylins
pyrrexhia
pyrrhic
pyrrhicist
pyrrhicists
pyrrhics
pyrrhotine
pyrrhotite
pyrrhotites
pyrrhous
pyrrhuloxia
pyrrhuloxias
pyrrobutamine
pyrrol
pyrrole
pyrroles
pyrrolic

Literary usage of Pyrrhic

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Gentleman's Magazine (1821)
"... the fifth a pyrrhic, and the sixth a trochee. But, according to the Oxonian mode of pronunciation, ..."

2. Hermathena by Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland) (1885)
"On the Elision of Words of Pyrrhic Value in the Greek Tragics. By ROBERT Y. TYRRELL, MA, . . . 258 Emendations. By JOHN B. BURY, FTCD, . . .267 On the ..."

3. Institutes of Latin Grammar by John Grant (1808)
"the Pyrrhic verse, and the Ionic ; and lastly Mixt verses. OP THE Pyrrhic. There is but one kind of Pyrrhic verse, consisting of two or more ..."

4. A System of English Versification: Containing Rules for the Structure of the by Erastus Everett (1848)
"THE Pyrrhic. § 36. Quantity of the Pyrrhic. THIS foot, being composed of two short syllables, adds briskness to the movement, and is often employed to ..."

5. Pottery and Porcelain of All Times and Nations: With Tables of Factory and by William Cowper Prime (1878)
"... written on fragments of pottery, instead of the received idea that the Greeks voted with shells. Specimens of enamelled pottery 01. The Pyrrhic Dance ..."

6. The Poetry of the Future by James Wood Davidson (1888)
"The Pyrrhic (— —) consists of two weak syllables ; and from our definition of a foot it is clear that we cannot make this one at all. ..."

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