Philippic

[ fi-lip-ik ]

/ fɪˈlɪp ɪk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Philippic ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

1585–95; < Latin Philippicus < Greek Philippikós. See Philip, -ic

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

Examples from the Web for philippic

Such are the First Philippic and the three orations for Olynthus.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2|Various
Coolly drawing out his pocketbook, he threw down two hundred florins,—the usual fine,—and continued his philippic.
The Baron's Sons|Mr Jkai
A philippic at once so caustic and so classical, alighted like a bombshell among the hitherto peaceful citizens of Nopolis.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe|Edgar Allan Poe
Cicero replied in the Second Philippic, one of the most violent invectives ever written.
A Smaller History of Rome|William Smith and Eugene Lawrence

But suddenly a gentleman of Provence rose to deliver a philippic against women.
The Physiology of Marriage, Complete|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for philippic

philippic

/ (fɪˈlɪpɪk) /

noun

a bitter or impassioned speech of denunciation; invective

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 philippic

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.

Philippic

noun

RELATED WORDS

Origin of Philippic

Examples from the Web for philippic

philippic

noun

philippic