Anacreontic

American  

[uh-nak-ree-on-tik] / əˌnæk riˈɒn tɪk /

adjective

1. of or in the manner of Anacreon.

2. convivial and amatory.

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noun

1. anacreontic, an Anacreontic poem.

Anacreontic British  

/ 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

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noun

1. an Anacreontic poem

Other Word Forms

• Anacreontically adverb

Etymology

Origin of Anacreontic

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

Example Sentences

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.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 29, 2016

He wrote the poem “In Defense of Fort McHenry,” which was later set to the tune of a British song called “The Anacreontic Song” and eventually became the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

The Anacreontic Song was well known in the early American republic — most famously as “Adams and Liberty,” an impassioned defense of the second president.

From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2014

The Anacreontic Society faded out, I think toward the end of the 18th century,” White said.

From Washington Post

You will be pleased with the Anacreontic, written by Lord Middlesex upon Sir Harry Bellendine: I have not seen anything so antique for ages; it has all the fire, poetry, and simplicity of Horace.

From Letters of Horace Walpole — Volume I by Walpole, Horace