Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to lesbianism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Relating to lesbianism; lesbian.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Sappho, known for her homoerotic poetry.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Sapphic.

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Examples

  • The original version seems to have included some poems, which may explain why Sappho, an ancient Greek poet from whom the term sapphic is derived, is mentioned on the cover although none of her work appears inside.

    Paperback Cover Cavalcade 5 Steve 2009

  • I'm going to do what I call my sapphic sampler platter - it's monologues about being reared in Michigan by feral republicans - becoming a major irritant of the moral majority - and if that's not enough I will explain the following terms: teaser bitch, standing heat and the formal come.

    Mark Maynard 2010

  • The Chinese refer to sapphic love as ‘polishing mirrors’, a term that reflects the fact that female homosexual practices are largely limited to the rubbing together of similar parts, rather than actual penetration of the body.

    The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity Daniel Reid 1989

  • Maybe she learned more crime because prison can be a crime school, and maybe she explored some of the more sapphic parts of herself, but in terms of repentance or reform, that's just not Nancy.

    Weeds' Jenji Kohan: Nancy's Family Will Rebel in Season 7 2011

  • There's a post-Spice Girls sense of short-skirted girl power about the project, which Clarke admits was tailormade to keep the lads 'mags readers on board but which I found increasingly grating; can scenes of sapphic exhibitionism really be passed off as female empowerment?

    Mark Kermode's DVD round-up Mark Kermode 2010

  • If playing Ensign Ro Laren in Star Trek had already cemented her place within that community, then joining Battlestar Galactica as the steely Admiral Helena Cain – complete with a complicated sapphic storyline featuring an undercover Cylon agent – sent her popularity through the roof.

    The Killing star Michelle Forbes: why I avoided watching Forbrydelsen 2011

  • Why you toss in a little "sapphic experimentation" between two of the leads!

    Tube Bits For 07/07/2009 2009

  • Cue the video for "Not Myself Tonight", the lead single from Aguilera's fourth album, Bionic, which finds the diminutive Aguilera in a bling gimp outfit, getting all sapphic.

    Christina Aguilera: Bionic 2010

  • In places the characterisation is thin: Rovena, in particular, strays too close to a stock projection of male fantasy – a beautiful supplicant with sapphic tendencies, yet who ultimately remains obedient to one man, always offering herself up to him smelling fresh after prolonged bathroom preparations.

    The Accident by Ismail Kadare 2010

  • While the industry and early audiences alike are abuzz with stories of her graphic and sapphic love scene with Black Swan costar Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis has just one word to describe reports that alcohol was involved: "False!"

    Mila Kunis Talks 20-Pound Weight Loss, Sex Scene With Natalie Portman The Huffington Post News Team 2010

Comments

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  • One of my favorite meters to write in.

    September 6, 2008

  • any examples, Shevek?

    September 6, 2008