pyrrhic

[ pir-ik ]

/ ˈpɪr ɪk /

Prosody

adjective

consisting of two short or unaccented syllables.

composed of or pertaining to pyrrhics.

noun

Also called dibrach. a pyrrhic foot.

Nearby words

Origin of pyrrhic

1620–30; < Latin pyrrhichius < Greek pyrrhíchios pertaining to the pyrrhíchē pyrrhic²

pyrrhic

[ pir-ik ]

/ ˈpɪr ɪk /

noun

an ancient Greek warlike dance in which the motions of actual warfare were imitated.

adjective

of, relating to, or denoting this dance.

Origin of pyrrhic

1590–1600; < Latin pyrrhicha < Greek pyrrhíchē a dance; said to be named after Pyrrhichus, the inventor

Pyrrhic

[ pir-ik ]

/ ˈpɪr ɪk /

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, or his costly victory.

Origin of Pyrrhic

First recorded in 1880–85; Pyrrh(us) + -ic

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

Examples from the Web for pyrrhic

It's a pyrrhic symbolic victory that could actually be causing extra environmental damage.
The Quixotic Crusade Against the Keystone Pipeline|Megan McArdle|March 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This will be a war of attrition and a Pyrrhic and Camdean Victory for myself.
Rogue L.A. Cop’s Facebook Manifesto: ‘You Will Now Live the Life of Prey’|The Daily Beast|February 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Legislators are no longer thinking ahead even as far as the next election; all their focus is on the next Pyrrhic victory.
Washington Goes Platinum|Megan McArdle|January 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But Howard Kurtz says it could prove a pyrrhic victory that could threaten his second-term agenda.
Obama Fiscal Cliff Victory Could Invite Years of Warfare With the GOP|Howard Kurtz|January 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST

However, if that is all that isaccomplished, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.
Be Careful What You Wish For In Syria|Theodore Kattouf|December 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But Methuen's first engagements seemed to him to be Pyrrhic victories.
Lord Milner's Work in South Africa|W. Basil Worsfold
She had won, but a succession of such victories—a perpetual need of such victories—would be Pyrrhic in its effect on her nerves.
Mrs. Maxon Protests|Anthony Hope
Here the measure and melody are perfect; the period closing with three Iambics, preceded by a Pyrrhic.
Dissertation on the English Language|Noah Webster, Jr.
The Pyrrhic dance, performed by several men in armor, imitated the movements of attack and defence.
Museum of Antiquity|L. W. Yaggy
The Pyrrhic, which has both the words or syllables unaccented: as, n th tree-top.
The Comic English Grammar|Unknown

British Dictionary definitions for pyrrhic

pyrrhic

/ (ˈpɪrɪk) prosody /

noun

a metrical foot of two short or unstressed syllables

adjective

of or relating to such a metrical foot

(of poetry) composed in pyrrhics

Word Origin for pyrrhic

C16: via Latin, from Greek purrhikhē, traditionally said to be named after its inventor Purrhikhos

noun

a war dance of ancient Greece

adjective

of or relating to this dance

Word Origin for pyrrhic

C17: Latin from Greek purrhikhios belonging to the purrhikhē war dance performed in armour; see pyrrhic 1

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 pyrrhic

Pyrrhic

adj.

1885 (usually in phrase Pyrrhic victory), from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who defeated Roman armies at Asculum, 280 B.C.E., but at such cost to his own troops that he was unable to follow up and attack Rome itself, and is said to have remarked, "one more such victory and we are lost."

pyrrhic

"dance in armor" (1590s), also a type of metrical foot (1620s), from Latin pyrrhicha, from Greek pyrrikhe orkhesis, the war-dance of ancient Greece, traditionally named for its inventor, Pyrrikhos. The name means "reddish," from pyrros "flame-colored," from pyr "fire" (see fire (n.)). As an adjective from 1749.