Orphic

[awr-fik]

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adjective

of or relating to Orpheus.

resembling the music attributed to Orpheus; entrancing.

pertaining to a religious or philosophical school maintaining a form of the cult of Dionysus, or Bacchus, ascribed to Orpheus as founder: Orphic mysteries.

(often lowercase) mystic; oracular.

Origin of Orphic

1670–80; < Greek Orphikós (cognate with Latin Orphicus), equivalent to Orph(eús) Orpheus + -ikos -ic

Related formsOr·phi·cal·ly, adverb

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

Related Words for orphic

enigmatic, secluded, cryptic, rare, irrelevant, unknown, humble, esoteric, inaccessible, distant, undisclosed, arcane, secretive, mysterious, undistinguished, odd, remote, minor, thorough, philosophical

Examples from the Web for orphic

Historical Examples of orphic

"Starving will kill as dead as hanging," was Lieders's orphic response to this.
Stories of a Western Town
Octave Thanet
And Orphic purity was mainly, though not entirely, the result of moral discipline.
The Legacy of Greece
Various
We may also take it that he was familiar with all sorts of Orphic and Pythagorean sectaries.
The Legacy of Greece
Various
The Orphic priests of old Greece most nearly resembled the shamans of the savages.
Psychotherapy
Hugo Mnsterberg
To them any version of the Orphic myth is tinglingly credible.
The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 1
Elizabeth Bisland

British Dictionary definitions for orphic

Orphic

adjective

of or relating to Orpheus or Orphism

(sometimes not capital) mystical or occult

Derived FormsOrphically, adverb

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 orphic

Orphic

adj.

1670s, from Greek orphikos "pertaining to Orpheus," master musician of Thrace, son of Eagrus and Calliope, husband of Eurydice, whose name (of unknown origin) was associated with mystic doctrines. Related: Orphism.