coryphaeus

American  

[kawr-uh-fee-uhs, kor-] / ˌkɔr əˈfi əs, ˌkɒr- /

noun

plural

coryphaei

1. the leader of the chorus in the ancient Greek drama.

2. the leader of an operatic chorus or any group of singers.

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coryphaeus British  

/ ˌkɒrɪˈfiːəs /

noun

1. (in ancient Greek drama) the leader of the chorus

2. archaic a leader of a group

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Etymology

Origin of coryphaeus

1625–35; < Latin < Greek koryphaîos leading, equivalent to koryph ( ḗ ) head, top + -aîos noun suffix

Example Sentences

Variable hyphenation of master-pieces, masterpiece as in original Page 31. palladins as in original Page 98. depreciatory as in original Page 115. coryphoeus corrected to coryphaeus Page 135.

From The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion by Edge, Frederick Milnes

Herophilus, ille anatomicorum coryphaeus, as Vesalius calls him, was a pupil of Praxagoras, and his name is still in everyday use by medical students, attached to the torcular Herophili.

From The Evolution of Modern Medicine A Series of Lectures Delivered at Yale University on the Silliman Foundation in April, 1913 by Osler, William

Plato—whom we refer to, because he is the coryphaeus of all the diverse host of Greek philosophy—seems to overestimate or rather to misconceive the place of knowledge.

From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich

Bad flute-players twist and twirl, if they have to represent 'the quoit-throw,' or hustle the coryphaeus when they perform the 'Scylla.'

From The Poetics of Aristotle by Butcher, S. H. (Samuel Henry)

His conception of history at its highest is but an anticipation of the picturesque but pragmatic school of which Macaulay is coryphaeus.

From The Origins and Destiny of Imperial Britain Nineteenth Century Europe by Cramb, J. A. (John Adam)