Art & MusicGreek → English
Encomium
/ɛnˈkoʊmiəm/noun
A formal speech or piece of writing in high praise of someone.
The Greek roots
ἐν
en
in, at
κῶμος
kômos
revel, victory procession
Literally: “song at the revel”
The story of the word
The kōmos was the drunken parade that followed an athletic victory, and the enkōmion was the song sung in it. Pindar wrote them for winners at Olympia. The same kōmos gave Athens its word for comedy, so praise poetry and stage farce share a grandparent.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
comedycomediancomic
In a sentence
The retirement dinner produced three encomiums and one honest speech.
Erasmus wrote an encomium of folly, which is not quite the same as praising it.