Pythagorean
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to Pythagoras
-
denoting the diatonic scale of eight notes arrived at by Pythagoras and based on a succession of fifths
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of Pythagorean
1540–50; < Latin Pȳthagorē ( us ) (< Greek Pȳthagóreios of Pythagoras) + -an
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.
Overhead, a stylized starry sky—gold against deep blue—illustrates the Pythagorean idea of the music of the spheres.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
We still use the Pythagorean theorem and euclidean principles.
From Slate • Sep. 26, 2025
If verified, Johnson and Jackson’s proof would contradict mathematician and educator Elisha Loomis, who stated in his 1927 book The Pythagorean Proposition that no trigonometric proof of the Pythagorean theorem could be correct.
From Scientific American • Apr. 10, 2023
Fortunately, there’s a much easier way to use the Pythagorean theorem on a job site.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2022
The importance of the golden ratio comes from a Pythagorean discovery that is now barely remembered.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
