Sapphic
Americanadjective
noun
-
Greek Literature. a verse using certain meters or forms used by or named after Sappho.
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Slang. Sometimes sapphic a woman who is sexually or romantically attracted to other women.
adjective
-
prosody denoting a metre associated with Sappho, consisting generally of a trochaic pentameter line with a dactyl in the third foot
-
of or relating to Sappho or her poetry
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lesbian
noun
Usage
What's the difference between Sapphic and lesbian? See gay ( def. ).
Etymology
Origin of Sapphic
First recorded in 1495–1505; from Latin sapphicus, from Greek sapphikós, equivalent to Sapph(ṓ) the name of a famous Greek poet ( see Sappho ( def. )) + -ikos adjective suffix; see -ic
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.
Sapphic Pride: For the third year in a row, we’ll be celebrating pride with insane performances, games, music and more at Seattle’s event for queer women and sapphics.
From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2024
Romance: In “An Island Princess Starts a Scandal” by Adriana Herrera, a Venezuelan heiress has a few weeks to live her best Sapphic life before she must marry a dull man.
From New York Times ● Jun. 1, 2023
"I did not have Madonna comes out on TikTok by throwing underwear at a basketball hoop on my Sapphic Mad Libs Bingo card today, but I don't mind being surprised," says Autostraddle writer Heather Hogan.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2022
Malinda Lo is a Chinese American lesbian immigrant who primarily writes Sapphic YA fantasy and historical fiction.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2022
The Asclepiadeian stanza he employs much less frequently, the Sapphic only once, and that with indifferent success.
From Types of Weltschmerz in German Poetry by Wilhelm Alfred Braun
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