Crossword clues for dithyramb
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dithyramb \Dith"y*ramb\, n. [L. dithyrambus, Gr. ? a kind of
lyric poetry in honor of Bacchus; also, a name of Bacchus; of
unknown origin: cf. F. dithyrambe.]
A kind of lyric poetry in honor of Bacchus, usually sung by a
band of revelers to a flute accompaniment; hence, in general,
a poem written in a wild irregular strain.
--Bentley.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
c.1600, from Latin dithyrambus, from Greek dithyrambos, which is of unknown origin, perhaps a pre-Hellenic loan-word. A wild choric hymn, originally in honor of Dionysus or Bacchus. Related: Dithyrambic.
Wiktionary
n. 1 A choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus. 2 A poem or oration in the same style.
WordNet
n. a wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing
(ancient Greece) a passionate hymn (usually in honor of Dionysus)
Wikipedia
The dithyramb (, dithurambos) was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god: Plato, in The Laws, while discussing various kinds of music mentions "the birth of Dionysos, called, I think, the dithyramb." Plato also remarks in the Republic that dithyrambs are the clearest example of poetry in which the poet is the only speaker.
Plutarch contrasted the dithyramb's wild and ecstatic character with the paean. According to Aristotle, the dithyramb was the origin of Athenian tragedy. A wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing is still occasionally described as dithyrambic.
Usage examples of "dithyramb".
He wrote sacred and panegyrical odes, Anacreontic and Horatian lyrics, dithyrambs and cantatas, and even, in his later years, ballads.
But the American invaders, despite a Patton here and there, would have been embarrassed by Churchillian dithyrambs about what they were doing.
Or put it, that Port is the Homeric hexameter, Burgundy the pindaric dithyramb.
Casaubon that evening, or on his dithyrambs about Dorothea's charm, in all which Will joined, but with a difference.
He was all fire and air, it seemed, and could not be bothered to tone down his dithyramb.