a pyrrhic

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• Pyrrhic — Pyr rhic, a. [L. pyrrhichius, Gr. ? belonging to the ? (sc. ?) a kind of war dance.] 1. Of or pertaining to an ancient Greek martial dance. ye have the pyrrhic dance as yet. Byron. [1913 Webster] 2. (Pros.) Of or pertaining to a pyrrhic, or to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• Pyrrhic victory — Pyrrhic Pyr rhic, a. [L. pyrrhichius, Gr. ? belonging to the ? (sc. ?) a kind of war dance.] 1. Of or pertaining to an ancient Greek martial dance. ye have the pyrrhic dance as yet. Byron. [1913 Webster] 2. (Pros.) Of or pertaining to a pyrrhic,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• Pyrrhic — (1) 1885 (usually in phrase Pyrrhic victory), from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who defeated Roman armies at Asculum, 280 B.C.E., but at such cost to his own troops that he was unable to follow up and attack Rome itself, and is said to have remarked …   Etymology dictionary

• pyrrhic victory — A Pyrrhic victory is one that causes the victor to suffer so much to achieve it that it isn t worth winning …   The small dictionary of idiomes

• pyrrhic — pyrrhic1 [pir′ik] n. [L pyrrhicha < Gr pyrrhichē, war dance] a war dance of the ancient Greeks pyrrhic2 [pir′ik] n. [L pyrrhichius < Gr pyrrhichios (pous), pyrrhic (foot)] a metrical foot of two short or unaccented syllables adj. of or made …   English World dictionary

• Pyrrhic — Pyr rhic, n. 1. [Gr. ?: cf. F. pyrrhique, fem.] An ancient Greek martial dance, to the accompaniment of the flute, its time being very quick. [1913 Webster] 2. [L. pyrrhichius (sc. pes), Gr. ? (sc. ?): cf. F. pyrrhique, masc.] (Pros.) A foot… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• pyrrhic — (2) dance in armor (1590s), also a type of metrical foot (1620s), from L. pyrrhicha, from Gk. pyrrikhe orkhesis, the war dance of ancient Greece, traditionally named for its inventor, Pyrrikhos. The name means reddish, from pyrros flame colored,… …   Etymology dictionary

• pyrrhic — used of a victory won at too great cost to be of use to the victor, is named after Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus who defeated a Roman army at Asculum in 279 bc but sustained heavy losses and was unable to exploit his success …   Modern English usage

• pyrrhic — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ (of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor. ORIGIN named after Pyrrhus, a king of Epirus whose victory over the Romans in 279 BC incurred heavy losses …   English terms dictionary

• Pyrrhic victory — [pir′ik, pir′ik] n. [Gr Pyrrhikos] a too costly victory: in reference to either of two victories of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, over the Romans in 280 and 279 B.C., with very heavy losses …   English World dictionary

• Pyrrhic War — Infobox Military Conflict conflict= Pyrrhic War caption= The route of Pyrrhus of Epirus during his campaigns in southern Italy and Sicily. date= 280 ndash;275 BC place= Southern Italy, Sicily result= Roman victory combatant1=Roman Republic… …   Wikipedia