pyrrhic

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See also: Pyrrhic

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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From Latin pyrrhichius, from Ancient Greek πυρρίχιος (purrhíkhios), from πυρρίχη (purrhíkhē, war dance).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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pyrrhic (not comparable)

  1. (prosody) Of or characterized by pyrrhics (metrical feet with two short syllables).
  2. Relating to Pyrrhus, a Macedonian king, or some of his costly victories he had while fighting Rome.
  3. Alternative letter-case form of Pyrrhic (achieved at too great a cost)
    • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 199:
      Huwawa is slain; the victors triumph, but the victory is to be a pyrrhic one for Gilgamesh, for the gods have met in counsel and decreed that Enkidu should die.
    • 2015, Dag Heward-Mills, A Good General, Dag Heward-Mills, →ISBN:
      In the ministry, it is important to avoid pyrrhic victories. What really is a pyrrhic victory? A pyrrhic victory is a victory that comes with such devastating cost that ultimately nullifies the victory that has been achieved.

Translations

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Noun

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pyrrhic (plural pyrrhics)

  1. An Ancient Greek war dance.
  2. (prosody) A metric foot with two short or unaccented syllables.

Anagrams

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