pyrrhic

n.
A metrical foot having two short or unaccented syllables.

adj.
Of or characterized by pyrrhics.

[Latin pyrrhicius, from Greek purrikhios, from purrikhē, a war dance, perhaps from Purrikhos, supposed inventor of the dance.]

pyrrhic, a hypothetical metrical unit sometimes invoked in traditional scansion: it consists of two unstressed syllables (or, in quantitative verse, two short syllables), and is rather questionably referred to as a foot. It has been called upon in many attempts to clear up problems of traditional scansion by feet, as a device of substitution. Some modern systems of scansion, however, have abolished it by considering pairs of unstressed syllables in terms of promotion and other concepts. See also metre.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed syllables
  Synonym: dibrach

Meaning #2: an ancient Greek dance imitating the motions of warfare

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The adjective pyrrhic has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1: of or relating to a war dance of ancient Greece
  Pertains to noun: pyrrhic (meaning #2)

Meaning #2: of or relating to or containing a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables
  Pertains to noun: pyrrhic (meaning #1)

Meaning #3: of or relating to or resembling Pyrrhus or his exploits (especially his sustaining staggering losses in order to defeat the Romans)
  Pertains to noun: Pyrrhus (meaning #1)

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - pyrrhus-, sejr, der ikke var umagen værd

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    pyrrhussejr

2.
n. - metrisk versefod
adj. - i metrisk versefod

Nederlands (Dutch)
Pyrrusachtig

Français (French)
1.
adj. - pyrrhique, coûteuse (victoire)

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    victoire à la Pyrrhus, victoire coûteuse

2.
n. - (Littérat, Poésie) pied de deux syllabes brèves ou inaccentuées
adj. - d'un pied de deux syllabes brèves ou inaccentuées

Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - Pyrrhus-, pyrrhisch

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    Phyrrussieg

2.
n. - Pyrrhichius (Versfuß)
adj. - Pyrrhus-, pyrrhisch

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - (ιστ., μτφ.) πύρρειος
n. - πυρρίχιος (πους)

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    πύρρεια νίκη

Italiano (Italian)
di Pirro, pirrica

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    vittoria di Pirro

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - pírrica, relativo ao pirríquio, relativo a Pirro
n. - pírrica (f), pirríquio (m)

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    vitória de Pirro

Русский (Russian)
пиррихий

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    пиррова победа

Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - pírrico, pirriquio, a lo Pirro

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    victoria pírrica

2.
n. - pie métrico de dos sílabas cortas o sin acento
adj. - pírrico, pirriquio

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - pyrrhisk

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
出征舞, 抑抑格, 出征舞的, 抑抑格的

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    以太高代价取得的胜利, 代价过高的目标

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 出征舞, 抑抑格
adj. - 出征舞的, 抑抑格的

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    以太高代價取得的勝利, 代價過高的目標

한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - 왕의[같은]

2.
n. - 단단격
adj. - 단판격의, 약약격의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - ピュロスの, 2短音歩の

idioms:

• pyrrhic victory    引き合わない勝利, ピュロスの勝利

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) (نصر) باهض الثمن‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮פירוס (ניצחון), ניצחון שכמוהו כמפלה‬
n. - ‮משקל שירי של שתי הברות קצרות ולא-מוטעמות‬
adj. - ‮כתוב במשקל זה או מבוסס עליו‬

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