dithyramb

American  

[dith-uh-ram, -ramb] / ˈdɪθ əˌræm, -ˌræmb /

noun

1. a Greek choral song or chant of vehement or wild character and of usually irregular form, originally in honor of Dionysus or Bacchus.

2. any poem or other composition having similar characteristics, as an impassioned or exalted theme or irregular form.

3. any wildly enthusiastic speech or writing.

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dithyramb British  

/ -ˌræmb, ˈdɪθɪˌræm /

noun

1. (in ancient Greece) a passionate choral hymn in honour of Dionysus; the forerunner of Greek drama

2. any utterance or a piece of writing that resembles this

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Etymology

Origin of dithyramb

1595–1605; < Latin dīthyrambus < Greek dīthýrambos

Explanation

A dithyramb is a speech or piece of writing that bursts with enthusiasm. A dithyramb is full of passion and purpose, so save it for a special occasion. The next time you hear a wildly enthusiastic speech, pull this word out of your hat to describe it. The Greek original was the name for a passionate choral hymn, typically to Dionysus. Since then, dithyramb came to mean a poem with similar passion, and then any type of writing or speech that bursts with enthusiasm. A love letter could be called a dithyramb. A powerful speech on behalf of justice could be called a dithyramb. Dithyrambs are passionate.

Example Sentences

The ensemble’s rich resonance, combined with the variety of pitches and shifting dynamics, evokes a kaleidoscopic dithyramb of rare power.

From Washington Post • Apr. 14, 2016

For the next 20 minutes Teddy repeated his familiar dithyramb to the Kennedys' longtime political handyman.

From Time Magazine Archive

His is a poet’s prose, given to dithyramb, and it can’t be hurried along.

From Washington Post

Panama may be intended as a dithyramb of exhaustion�Pomeroy's and, grandiosely, the American culture's.

From Time Magazine Archive

But when tragic drama had so far developed as to be quite independent, the dithyramb did not, on 324 that account, disappear.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various