Philippic
- any of the orations delivered by Demosthenes, the Athenian orator, in the 4th century b.c., against Philip, king of Macedon.
- (lowercase) any speech or discourse of bitter denunciation.
Origin of Philippic
Examples from the Web for philippic
Historical Examples of philippic
Such a philippic, he seemed to think, could never be out of season.
Literary Tours in The Highlands and Islands of ScotlandDaniel Turner Holmes
He himself goes to Puteoli, and there he writes the second Philippic.
The Life of CiceroAnthony Trollope
In the same evening he addresses the people in his fourth Philippic.
The Life of CiceroAnthony Trollope
Cicero speaks of this event of his life in his twelfth Philippic, c. 11.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume IVAubrey Stewart
On the second of September he delivered his first Philippic in the Senate.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume IVAubrey Stewart
philippic
- a bitter or impassioned speech of denunciation; invective
Word Origin and History for philippic
1590s, "bitter invective discourse," from Middle French philippique, from Latin (orationes) Philippicæ, translation of Greek Philippikoi (logoi), the speeches made in Athens by Demosthenes in 351-341 B.C.E. urging Greeks to unite and fight the rising power of Philip II of Macedon. The Latin phrase was used of the speeches made by Cicero against Marc Antony in 44 and 43 B.C.E.