choragus

American  

[kuh-rey-guhs, koh-, kaw-] / kəˈreɪ gəs, koʊ-, kɔ- /

noun

plural

choragi, choraguses

1. (in ancient Greece)

   1. the leader of a dramatic chorus.

   2. a person who undertook the expense of providing for such a chorus.

2. any conductor of an entertainment or festival.

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choragus British  

/ kɔːˈrædʒɪk, -ˈreɪ-, kɔːˈreɪɡəs /

noun

1. 1. the leader of a chorus

   2. a sponsor of a chorus

2. a conductor of a festival

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Other Word Forms

• choragic adjective

Etymology

Origin of choragus

1620–30; < Latin < Greek chorāgós, dialectal variant of chorēgós, equivalent to chor ( ós ) chorus + -ēgos, combining form of ágein to lead

Example Sentences

At one moment a character is declaiming like a choragus; at the next he may be slanging to beat Broadway.

From Time Magazine Archive

When it had attained its highest pitch, at a sign from the choragus it ceased—ceased with such suddenness as to impart an impression that was positively uneasy.

From A Frontier Mystery by Mitford, Bertram

Again she sings; he suits her mood, Nor breaks upon her solitude: So she, choragus, calls the tune, And as she leads he follows soon.

From Helen Redeemed and Other Poems by Hewlett, Maurice Henry

At such times the choragus, or leader of the chorus, took his station on the top of the thymele, to see what was passing on the stage, and to converse with the characters there present.

From Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature by Black, John

Therefore go and sacrifice the sheep in the house, cut off the legs and bring them here; thus the carcase will be saved for the choragus.

From The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1 by Aristophanes