epithalamium

[ ep-uh-thuh-ley-mee-uhm ]

noun

, plural ep·i·tha·la·mi·ums, ep·i·tha·la·mi·a [ep-, uh, -th, uh, -, ley, -mee-, uh].

1. epithalamion.

epithalamium

/ ˌɛpɪθəˈleɪmɪəm; ˌɛpɪθəˈlæmɪk /

noun

1. a poem or song written to celebrate a marriage; nuptial ode

Derived Forms

• epithalamic, adjective

Other Words From

• ep·i·tha·lam·ic [ep-, uh, -th, uh, -, lam, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of epithalamium¹

C17: from Latin, from Greek epithalamion marriage song, from thalamos bridal chamber

Example Sentences

The New Yorker declared that Mr. Greenberg was to wedding cakes “what Henry Purcell was to wedding music or Edmund Spenser to the epithalamium” — that is, a wedding song or poem.

From New York Times

In fact, there’s a special term for a wedding poem: epithalamium.

From Washington Post

Was it an epithalamium praising a forthcoming marriage or a seduction lyric drawing on the classic argument of “carpe diem”— seize the day, live for the moment?

From Washington Post

She wrote, it is believed, at least nine books of odes, together with epithalamia, epigrams, elegies, and monodies.

From Project Gutenberg

By the ablest interpreters and critics of Holy Scripture, the Song of Solomon has generally been regarded as an epithalamium, or nuptial canticle.

From Project Gutenberg