ode
[ohd]
- a lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form and expressive of exalted or enthusiastic emotion.
- (originally) a poem intended to be sung.
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Compare Horatian ode, Pindaric ode.
Origin of ode
1580–90; < Middle French < Late Latin ōda < Greek ōidḗ, contraction of aoidḗ song, derivative of aeídein to sing
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for odes
Contemporary Examples
Each time Emma Stone or Mila Kunis have a new movie coming out, a flurry of odes to their “coolness” hit the web.
Historical Examples
Collins is not to publish the odes unless he gets ten guineas for them.
The Poetical Works of William CollinsWilliam Collins
Collins lived thirteen years after the publication of his Odes.
The Poetical Works of William CollinsWilliam Collins
It may be doubted which are now most popular, the Odes of Collins or of Gray.
The Poetical Works of William CollinsWilliam Collins
Nay, Cumberland has made his odes subsidiary to the fame of another man.
Art in EnglandDutton Cook
Come up after dinner and let us have a chat about that line in the 'Odes' we were speaking about.
My New CurateP.A. Sheehan
ode
- a lyric poem, typically addressed to a particular subject, with lines of varying lengths and complex rhythmsSee also Horatian ode, Pindaric ode
- (formerly) a poem meant to be sung
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Word Origin
C16: via French from Late Latin ōda, from Greek ōidē, from aeidein to sing
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for odes
ode
n.
1580s, from Middle French ode (c.1500), from Late Latin ode "lyric song," from Greek oide, Attic contraction of aoide "song, ode;" related to aeidein (Attic aidein) "to sing;" aoidos (Attic oidos) "a singer, singing;" aude "voice, tone, sound," probably from a PIE *e-weid-, perhaps from root *wed- "to speak." In classical use, "a poem intended to be sung;" in modern use usually a rhymed lyric, often an address, usually dignified, rarely extending to 150 lines. Related: Odic.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ode
A kind of poem devoted to the praise of a person, animal, or thing. An ode is usually written in an elevated style and often expresses deep feeling. An example is “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.