encomium
Americannoun
plural
encomiums, encomianoun
Etymology
Origin of encomium
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin, from Greek enkṓmion, equivalent to en- en- 2 + kôm(os) “a revel” + -ion noun suffix
Explanation
An encomium is a fancy word for a formal speech or piece of writing that warmly praises someone or something. Encomium comes from the Greek word enkomion which, in a nutshell, is to honor someone or something at a party in a poetic speech. It used to refer to the song for the winner of the Olympic Games, sung at a victory celebration. You might hear an encomium at a retirement party, after you publish a fabulous book, or even at a funeral (a eulogy, or speech at a funeral about the person who died, is a kind of encomium). It's pronounced with a long O, en-CO-mium.
Vocabulary lists containing encomium
Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Advanced
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Reading: Literature - Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - High School
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Gulliver's Travels
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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.
Still, there is something uncomfortably obsequious throughout this encomium to Thomas, who sits in review of Thapar’s own rulings.
From Slate • Jul. 25, 2023
As the priest assured their families that the quartet's loss was not in vain, the choir chanted the encomium "Memory Eternal" in Ukrainian.
From Reuters • Mar. 15, 2022
The result is both an encomium and an acknowledgment of music’s progress since the days of Xenakis.
From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2022
I’m as guilty as anyone of having blithely used that exaggerated encomium in composing year-end lists in the past.
From Washington Post • Dec. 6, 2021
It may be that we are to be content with very limited results, and with the encomium bestowed on the woman in the Gospel, “She hath done what she could.”
From The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of Samuel by Blaikie, William Garden
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.