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stichomythia

[ stik-uh-mith-ee-uh ]

noun

  1. dramatic dialogue, as in a Greek play, characterized by brief exchanges between two characters, each of whom usually speaks in one line of verse during a scene of intense emotion or strong argumentation.


stichomythia

/ ˌstɪkəʊˈmɪθɪə; stɪˈkɒmɪθɪ /

noun

  1. a form of dialogue originating in Greek drama in which single lines are uttered by alternate speakers
“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


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Derived Forms

  • ˌstichoˈmythic, adjective
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Other Words From

  • sticho·mythic adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of stichomythia1

1860–65; < Greek stichomȳthía, equivalent to stícho ( s ) ( stich 1 ) + -mȳthia ( mŷth ( os ) speech, story + -ia -ia )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of stichomythia1

C19: from Greek stikhomuthein to speak alternate lines, from stikhos line + muthos speech; see myth
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Example Sentences

The dreary tirades of Polyphontes and Merope, and their snip-snap stichomythia, read equally ill in English.

Phillis and Amyntas reappear and carry on a conversation, not unamiably, in a sort of hexametrical stichomythia.

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