⚔️ Costly win 📖 Unstressed syllables 📖 Two unstressed syllables 💃 Greek war dance 💃 War dance style

pyrrhic

9.9

An ancient Greek war dance that copies fighting movements

noun
/ˈpɪrɪk/

Literature

: danza pírrica

The soldiers performed a pyrrhic before the festival began.

Examples

The soldiers performed a pyrrhic to celebrate their victory.
The pyrrhic required agility and precise imitation of battle tactics.
She studied the pyrrhic as part of her research on ancient Greek rituals.
Have you ever seen a pyrrhic before?
The dancers showcased a traditional pyrrhic to honor their ancestors during the festival.
He learned the pyrrhic as part of his training in ancient Greek dance forms.
During the reenactment, the performers executed a pyrrhic that mimicked the movements of warriors.

Synonyms

war dance

vspyrrhic

1 8.2

A group dance done before battle or after a victory, often by Native peoples

focuses on imitating combat moves rather than serving as a prebattle or victory ritual

Compounds

Pyrrhic victory

4 9.9

A victory that costs so much it is almost a defeat

Surface Forms

pyrrhic singular

pyrrhics plural

Etymology

Pyrrhic (dance) comes from the Greek word pyrrhichē, meaning a 'war dance' where dancers copied fighting moves to show skill and train for battle. That is why the pyrrhic was a dance linked to war and military practice.