Anacreontic

[uh-nak-ree-on-tik]

adjective

1. of or in the manner of Anacreon.

2. convivial and amatory.

noun

1. anacreontic, an Anacreontic poem.

Anacreontic

/ əˌnækrɪˈɒntɪk /

adjective

1. in the manner of the Greek lyric poet Anacreon (?572–?488 _bc ), noted for his short songs celebrating love and wine

2. (of verse) in praise of love or wine; amatory or convivial

noun

1. an Anacreontic poem

Other Word Forms

• Anacreontically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of Anacreontic¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin Anacreōnticus, equivalent to Anacreōnt- (from Greek Anakreōnt-, stem of Anakréōn ) Anacreon + -icus adjective suffix; -ic

Example Sentences

The Georgetown lawyer and future D.C. district attorney didn’t write the lyrics on the back of an envelope — he had days stuck on his truce ship to compose it at a writing desk — and he consciously wrote it to the already familiar melody of “The Anacreontic Song,” the anthem of the London club of the same name which was already a popular template for America’s songwriters.

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As a musicologist, he has the vocabulary to bring melodies and specific performances alive with words, a skill he deftly uses to parse examples as diverse as the tune of the Anacreontic Song and Jimi Hendrix’s epic “Banner” performance at Woodstock.

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This was not a “drinking song” but, rather, an intentionally challenging piece ritualistically performed at each meeting of the Anacreontic Society since its composition for that purpose in the 18th century.

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Around 1776, the English composer John Stafford Smith wrote the tune “To Anacreon in Heaven” for the Anacreontic Society, a British gentlemen’s club that gathered regularly for dinners and concerts.

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Around the turn of the nineteenth century, “The Anacreontic Song” emerged as a vehicle for voicing partisanship in the new United States.

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