Orphic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to Orpheus or Orphism
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(sometimes not capital) mystical or occult
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Orphic
1670–80; < Greek Orphikós (cognate with Latin Orphicus ), equivalent to Orph ( eús ) Orpheus + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And it’s a clumsy one, attempting in the third act to weave aria pauses into a breakneck pace and an abrupt, Orphic turn.
From New York Times • Jun. 26, 2022
But the most important thing — an Orphic struggle if ever there was one — was not to look back.
From Washington Post • Nov. 17, 2021
Aucoin first explored the subject in a 2014 piece for countertenor, violin and orchestra called “The Orphic Moment.”
From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2020
Red Hen Press: The Figure of Orpheus in Poetry and Performance Contemporary poems on the Orphic theme, plus pianist Paul Barnes performs his solo-piano transcription of Philip Glass’ “Orphée” symphony.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2019
Proclus upon the “Timæus of Plato,” among other Orphic verses, cites the following: “Jupiter is a man, Jupiter is also an immortal maid.”
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.
