Orphic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to Orpheus or Orphism
-
(sometimes not capital) mystical or occult
Other Word Forms
- Orphically adverb
Etymology
Origin of Orphic
1670–80; < Greek Orphikós (cognate with Latin Orphicus ), equivalent to Orph ( eús ) Orpheus + -ikos -ic
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.
But the most important thing — an Orphic struggle if ever there was one — was not to look back.
From Washington Post • Nov. 17, 2021
Aucoin first explored the subject in a 2014 piece for countertenor, violin and orchestra called “The Orphic Moment.”
From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2020
Red Hen Press: The Figure of Orpheus in Poetry and Performance Contemporary poems on the Orphic theme, plus pianist Paul Barnes performs his solo-piano transcription of Philip Glass’ “Orphée” symphony.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2019
The music is bright as the young lovers leave the stage in an Orphic apotheosis.
From New York Times • Jan. 23, 2018
An added apartment at the right of the sitting-room was long the sick-room of the Orphic philosopher and the scene of Louisa's tender care.
From Literary Shrines The Haunts of Some Famous American Authors by Wolfe, Theodore F. (Theodore Frelinghuysen)
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.
