Adjacent Words

Dithyramb definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DITHYRAMB, DITHYRAMBUS, n. [Gr.] In ancient poetry, a hymn in honor of Bacchus, full of transport and poetical rage. Of this species of writing we have no remains.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing
2: (ancient Greece) a passionate hymn (usually in honor of Dionysus)

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural dithyrambs) Etymology: Greek dithyrambos Date: circa 1647 1. a usually short poem in an inspired wild irregular strain 2. a statement or writing in an exalted or enthusiastic vein • dithyrambic adjective • dithyrambically adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a wild choral hymn in ancient Greece, esp. to Dionysus. b a Bacchanalian song. 2 any passionate or inflated poem, speech, etc. Derivatives: dithyrambic adj. Etymology: L dithyrambus f. Gk dithurambos, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 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.