ithyphallic

[ ith-uh-fal-ik ]

/ ˌɪθ əˈfæl ɪk /

adjective

of or relating to the phallus carried in ancient festivals of Bacchus.

grossly indecent; obscene.

Classical Prosody. noting or pertaining to any of several meters employed in hymns sung in Bacchic processions.

noun

a poem in ithyphallic meter.

an indecent poem.

Nearby words

Origin of ithyphallic

1605–15; < Late Latin īthyphallicus < Greek īthyphallikós, equivalent to īthý(s) straight, erect + phall(ós) phallus + -ikos -ic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ithyphallic

No ithyphallic 165images or figures of gods have been found.
Introduction to the History of Religions|Crawford Howell Toy
Represented as ithyphallic, with two tall plumes on his head, the right arm upraised and bearing a scourge.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1|Various
The ithyphallic, which was marked by a succession of three trochees at the end of the line, was the most distinguished.
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol I of 2)|John Addington Symonds
Ithyphallic, ith-i-fal′ik, adj. pertaining to certain rites: obscene.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ithyphallic

ithyphallic

/ (ˌɪθɪˈfælɪk) /

adjective

prosody (in classical verse) of or relating to the usual metre in hymns to Bacchus

of or relating to the phallus carried in the ancient festivals of Bacchus

(of sculpture and graphic art) having or showing an erect penis

noun

prosody a poem in ithyphallic metre

Word Origin for ithyphallic

C17: from Late Latin, from Greek ithuphallikos, from ithuphallos erect phallus, from ithus straight + phallos phallus

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

Word Origin and History for ithyphallic

ithyphallic

1610s, "poem in ithyphallic meter," from Greek ithyphallos "phallos carried in the festivals," from ithys "straight" + phallos "erect penis" (see phallus). As an adjective from 1795. The meter was that of the Bacchic hymns, which were sung in the rites during which such phalloses were carried. Thus, in Victorian times, the word also meant "grossly indecent" (1864).