noun
Other Word Forms
- panegyrical adjective
- panegyrically adverb
- panegyrist noun
- self-panegyric adjective
Etymology
Origin of panegyric
1590–1600; < Latin, noun use of panēgyricus of, belonging to a public assembly < Greek panēgyrikós, equivalent to panḗgyr ( is ) solemn assembly ( pan- pan- + -ēgyris, combining form of ágyris gathering; cf. category) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
A formal, high-minded speech can be described with a formal, high-minded word — the word panegyric, which is a very elaborate tribute to someone. You could consider most eulogies as panegyrics. It stands to reason that the original use of the word panegyris, from which panegyric derives, was to describe a public gathering in honor of a Greek god. The Latin, L. panegyricus, altered slightly to mean "public eulogy," which around the 16th Century shifted to the French panégyrique, which meant "laudation." In any case, the word today stands for high praise given in a speech or tribute as highfalutin as the word itself sounds.
Vocabulary lists containing panegyric
Frankenstein
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Poetry: Genres
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For National Pancake Day, Words With the Greek Roots "Pan-"
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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.
The whole film is a panegyric: big speeches and weighty moments with very little sense of play.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025
The country’s premier music group is usually known for its panegyric operas dedicated to the “great leaders” from his family.
From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2020
Now we begin anew with a panegyric to the late 17th-century naturalist and scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian by Diane Ackerman.
From Scientific American • Dec. 17, 2019
Hypnotized by the Cold War, he launched his attack on Rousseau and then on the idea of ‘‘positive’’ liberty, and in the name of liberal pluralism wrote a fulsome panegyric to ‘‘negative’’ liberty.
From Slate • Apr. 7, 2017
After having made a few preparatory experiments, he concluded with a panegyric upon modern chemistry, the terms of which I shall never forget:
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
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.
