Myth & LegendGreek → English
Delphic
/ˈdɛlfɪk/adjective
Deliberately obscure or ambiguous, in the manner of an oracle.
The Greek roots
Δελφοί
Delphoí
Delphi
Literally: “of Delphi”
Follow a root:Δελφοί1 word
The story of the word
Delphi's answers were famous for facing both ways. Croesus was told that if he crossed the river Halys he would destroy a great empire, and he did: his own. The place name is old and unexplained, tied by some ancient writers to δελφύς, womb, which suits the sanctuary's claim to be the navel of the earth, and by others to the dolphin shape Apollo took when he brought his first priests there.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
Delphidolphinoracle
In a sentence
The chairman gave a Delphic answer that both sides read as support.
Her feedback was Delphic enough that I rewrote the whole chapter twice.