Pyrrhic(h) [Pyrrhic, Pyrrhich]

Morpheme

Pyrrhic(h) [Pyrrhic, Pyrrhich]

Type

bound base

Denotation

war dance, metric foot with two short or unaccented syllables

Etymology

Latin pyrrhicius, pyrrhichus; Ancient Greek pyrrhíkhē, from pyrrhós, from pŷr + -rós

Evidence

pyrrhic, pyrrhical, pyrrhichius, pyrrhicist, pyrrhics

Notes

“war dance” notion from dances performed around funeral pyres
“metric foot” notion from short and quick movements of the war dance

See Also

Pyrr(h) [Pyrr, Pyrrh], Pyr(e) [Pyre, Pyr]