Art & MusicGreek → English
Dithyramb
/ˈdɪθɪræm/noun
A wild choral hymn to Dionysus, and by extension any piece of extravagant impassioned praise.
The Greek roots
διθύραμβος
dithýrambos
choral hymn to Dionysus
Literally: “Dionysus-hymn”
Follow a root:διθύραμβος1 word
The story of the word
The word itself is almost certainly not Greek in origin but borrowed from an earlier Aegean language, like Dionysus's own name. Aristotle claimed tragedy grew out of the dithyramb, sung by a chorus of fifty men circling an altar, when one performer stepped out to answer them. The modern sense, a review so enthusiastic it embarrasses everyone, keeps the frenzy and drops the god.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
dithyrambicDionysian
In a sentence
The notice in the paper was less a review than a dithyramb.