coryphaeus
Americannoun
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the leader of the chorus in the ancient Greek drama.
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the leader of an operatic chorus or any group of singers.
noun
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(in ancient Greek drama) the leader of the chorus
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archaic a leader of a group
Etymology
Origin of coryphaeus
1625–35; < Latin < Greek koryphaîos leading, equivalent to koryph ( ḗ ) head, top + -aîos noun suffix
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.
They left their share of the dialogue to the coryphaeus.
From Gryll Grange by Peacock, Thomas Love
Bad flute-players twist and twirl, if they have to represent 'the quoit-throw,' or hustle the coryphaeus when they perform the 'Scylla.'
From The Poetics of Aristotle by Butcher, S. H. (Samuel Henry)
Variable hyphenation of master-pieces, masterpiece as in original Page 31. palladins as in original Page 98. depreciatory as in original Page 115. coryphoeus corrected to coryphaeus Page 135.
From The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion by Edge, Frederick Milnes
His conception of history at its highest is but an anticipation of the picturesque but pragmatic school of which Macaulay is coryphaeus.
From The Origins and Destiny of Imperial Britain Nineteenth Century Europe by Cramb, J. A. (John Adam)
Herophilus, ille anatomicorum coryphaeus, as Vesalius calls him, was a pupil of Praxagoras, and his name is still in everyday use by medical students, attached to the torcular Herophili.
From The Evolution of Modern Medicine A Series of Lectures Delivered at Yale University on the Silliman Foundation in April, 1913 by Osler, William
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.
