paean

or pe·an

[ pee-uhn ]

noun

1. a song of praise, joy, or triumph.
2. a formal expression of high praise, as a poem, movie, or monument:

   This documentary is another paean to the mystical power and beauty of the ocean.

3. an elaborate or excessive expression of praise; panegyric:

   His restaurant review is just a long and not very interesting paean to his favorite ethnic cuisine.

4. a hymn of invocation or thanksgiving to Apollo or some other ancient Greek deity.

paean

/ ˈpiːən /

noun

1. a hymn sung in ancient Greece in invocation of or thanksgiving to a deity
2. any song of praise
3. enthusiastic praise

   the film received a paean from the critics

Other Words From

• pae·an·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of paean¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin Paeān, Paeōn “a Greek god, especially Apollo in his capacity as healer; a religious or festive hymn, addressed to Apollo or another god,” from Greek Paiā́n, Paiḗōn, Paiṓn “choral song, hymn, especially to Apollo,” personified as “the divine physician, Apollo”

Word History and Origins

Origin of paean¹

C16: via Latin from Greek paiān hymn to Apollo, from his title Paiān, denoting the physician of the gods

Example Sentences

And Mike Gold, author of “Jews Without Money,” sings a paean to an empty, garbage-strewn lot in his neighborhood that doubled as his beloved playground.

From Salon

A paean to the beautiful game, the book chronicles how Cloepfil overcame adversity to strike joy.

From Los Angeles Times

Howerton opened Sunday morning services on February 25 with this paean to sexual coercion.

From Salon

To this day, there remains no better Rosetta stone for deciphering the Nirvana generation's view of work than 1999's "Office Space," Mike Judge's paean to the plight of the X-er cubicle drone.

From Salon

Banning a production of Russia’s most famous literary paean to artistic freedom was perhaps too big an irony for even the Kremlin to bear.

From New York Times

Related Words

• hymn