dithyramb

[ dith-uh-ram, -ramb ]

/ ˈdɪθ əˌræm, -ˌræmb /

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noun

a Greek choral song or chant of vehement or wild character and of usually irregular form, originally in honor of Dionysus or Bacchus.

any poem or other composition having similar characteristics, as an impassioned or exalted theme or irregular form.

any wildly enthusiastic speech or writing.

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Origin of dithyramb

1595–1605; <Latin dīthyrambus<Greek dīthýrambos

Words nearby dithyramb

dithionate, dithionic, dithionic acid, dithionite, dithionous acid, dithyramb, dithyrambic, Ditmars, ditokous, ditransitive, ditriglyph

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use dithyramb in a sentence

It seems to have resolved itself into something which wants a name,something which is partly dithyramb and partly rhetoric.
Ephemera Critica|John Churton Collins
(Ἀντηνορίδαι, the first of the dithyrambs), and breaks off after verse 11 of the last dithyramb,Ἴδας.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1|Various
Tragedy—as also Comedy—was at first mere improvisation—the one (tragedy) originated with the leaders of the Dithyramb.
Ancient Art and Ritual|Jane Ellen Harrison
It is only quite 84lately that they have come at all to see that the Dithyramb was a Spring Song, a primitive rite.
Ancient Art and Ritual|Jane Ellen Harrison

And even as the dithyramb had been pressed into the service of poetry, so was drinking made rhythmic by music.
Critical & Historical Essays|Edward MacDowell

British Dictionary definitions for dithyramb

dithyramb

/ (ˈdɪθɪˌræm, -ˌræmb) /

noun

(in ancient Greece) a passionate choral hymn in honour of Dionysus; the forerunner of Greek drama

any utterance or a piece of writing that resembles this

Word Origin for dithyramb

C17: from Latin dīthyrambus, from Greek dithurambos; related to iambos iamb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012