any of the orations delivered by Demosthenes, the Athenian orator, in the 4th century b.c., against Philip, king of Macedon.
any of the 14 orations delivered by Cicero against Marc Antony (44-43 b.c.).
(lowercase) any speech or discourse of bitter denunciation.
First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin Philippicus, from Greek Philippikós; see Philip, -ic
A philippic is a bitter rant against someone or something. Unfortunately your impassioned philippic condemning your parents’ midnight curfew rule only resulted in you being grounded for a week. The word philippic originates from the Greek word philippikos, the name given to the speeches of the famous Greek orator Demosthenes, who warned the Athenians against Philip II of Macedon. The Greeks didn’t listen to Demosthenes, however, and then Philip and his son Alexander the Great ended up bringing all of Greece under Macedonian control. Too bad for the Athenians!
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The First Philippic, spoken early in 351 B.C., was no sudden note of alarm drawing attention to an unnoticed peril.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various
The Deputies were received by the Senate, who discussed their embassy, and on the next day they met again, when Cicero pronounced his eighth Philippic.
From The Life of Cicero Volume II. by Trollope, Anthony
Never was there a finer opportunity for the display of eloquence, than what was afforded to Cicero on this occasion; of which he most gloriously availed himself in the fourteenth Philippic.
From History of Roman Literature from its Earliest Period to the Augustan Age. Volume II by Dunlop, John
The First Philippic of Demosthenes was spoken in 351 B.C.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various
"But," said Sir John, "you forget that Akenside professedly adopts the language of Cicero in his second Philippic."
From Coelebs In Search of a Wife by More, Hannah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
