epithalamium

American  

[ep-uh-thuh-ley-mee-uhm] / ˌɛp ə θəˈleɪ mi əm /

noun

plural

epithalamiums, epithalamia

1. epithalamion.

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epithalamium British  

/ ˌɛpɪθəˈleɪmɪəm, ˌɛpɪθəˈlæmɪk /

noun

1. a poem or song written to celebrate a marriage; nuptial ode

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Other Word Forms

• epithalamic adjective

Etymology

Origin of epithalamium

C17: from Latin, from Greek epithalamion marriage song, from thalamos bridal chamber

Explanation

An epithalamium is a special poem written in honor of a marriage. Many epithalamiums are addressed to brides on their wedding days. The poetic form called an epithalamium started in ancient Greece as a song that was sung to the bride and groom on their wedding night by a group of children. Greek and Roman poets, including the poet Sappho, developed the epithalamium, in some cases celebrating specific marriages, and the 16th century English poet Edmund Spenser wrote Epithalamium for his own bride. The word means "bridal song," epithalamion in Greek, from epi, "upon," and thalamos, "bridal chamber."

Example Sentences

In fact, there’s a special term for a wedding poem: epithalamium.

From Washington Post • Sep. 13, 2018

"Bees' Nests", hitchhiking "for hours, pole-axed by Marzine / on sick-making bends", an ancestor among the translators of the King James Bible, Geordie slang, birthday greetings and an epithalamium: this is a collection of range and richness.

From The Guardian • Jun. 28, 2013

If Shikasta was an admonition, its successor is an epithalamium.

From Time Magazine Archive

Included is a series of love poems, a kind of epithalamium to his young wife, who was his student at Bennington.

From Time Magazine Archive

This is not the furious love ode, but the ceremonious epithalamium of devotional poetry.

From Renaissance Fancies and Studies Being a Sequel to Euphorion by Lee, Vernon