Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- King of Epirus (306–302 and 297–272) who defeated the Romans at Heraclea (280) and Asculum (279) despite his own staggering losses.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun Ancient Greek given name, particularly worn by the king of
Epirus (319-272 BC) who defeated Romans in several battles, but sustained heavy losses, from which the termPyrrhic victory was coined.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun king of Epirus; defeated the Romans in two battles in spite of staggering losses (319-272 BC)
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Gentleman, gracefull of person, excellent in speech, and every way as active as no man could be more: his name Pyrrhus, highly affected of Nicostratus, and more intimately trusted then all the rest.
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To paraphrase Pyrrhus, if sales keep soaring like this, then home builders will be utterly undone.
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After taking Gytheum Nabis returned with his army equipped for rapid marching, and hurrying past Lacedaemon he seized a position known as Pyrrhus 'Camp, which he felt quite certain that the Achaeans were making for.
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On the first day of his retreat the king reached a place called Pyrrhus 'Camp in Molossian Triphylia.
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Among his other servants he had a young man called Pyrrhus, who was sprightly and well bred and comely of his person and adroit in all that he had a mind to do, and him he loved and trusted over all else.
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(where Lycomedes then reigned) in his nonage to be brought up; to avoid that hard destiny of the oracle (he should be slain at the siege of Troy): and for that cause was nurtured in Genesco, amongst the king's children in a woman's habit; but see the event: he compressed Deidamia, the king's fair daughter, and had a fine son, called Pyrrhus by her.
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I strongly suspect that the introduction of the name of 'Pyrrhus' into
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Whereat Nicostratus marvelled not a little; and: -- "Pyrrhus," quoth he, "I verily believe thou dreamest."
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"Pyrrhus," said he, "the Romans are said to be good soldiers, and to rule over many warlike nations.
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Next to that outcome, Pyrrhus won a stupendous triumph.
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