Standard Lemma guide

coryphaeus

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌkɔɹəˈfiːəs/
  • /ˌkɒɹɪˈfiːʌs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The conductor or leader of the chorus of a drama.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

Qualifier: Ancient Greece

Topics: broadcasting, drama, dramaturgy, entertainment, film, lifestyle, media, television, theater

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: coryphée

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The chief or leader of an interest or party.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

Examples

  • 1986, Ladislav Matejka, I. R. Titunik, Translators' Preface, V. N. Vološinov, Marxism and the Philosophy of Language, page vii, Among those rare exceptions, fortunately, was that coryphaeus of modern thought in the humanities, Professor Roman Jakobson.
  • 1997, Ignaz Goldziher, Wolfgang Behn (editor and translator), The Zāhirīs: Their Doctrine and Their History, page 123, Indeed, when we make a comparative study of the Zāhirite school's known coryphaei of the different periods for their dogmatic point of view, we shall soon find out that the most divergent, diametrically opposed dogmatic branches could be combined as belonging to the Zāhirite fiqh school.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: coryphe, coryphée

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The leader of an opera chorus or another ensemble of singers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin coryphaeus, from Ancient Greek κορυφαῖος (koruphaîos, “leader of the chorus in an Ancient Greek drama”), from κορυφή (koruphḗ, “top of the head, crown”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh2- (“head, top; horn”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘belonging to, pertaining to’).

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: coryfee — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Esperanto: korifeo — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • German: Koryphäe — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Polish: koryfeusz — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Polish: koryfej — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Portuguese: corifeu — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Russian: дирижёр (dirižór) — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Serbo-Croatian: корифеј — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Serbo-Croatian: korifej — conductor of the dramatic chorus
  • Czech: koryfej — chief or leader of an interest or party
  • Esperanto: korifeo — chief or leader of an interest or party
  • German: Koryphäe — chief or leader of an interest or party
  • Hungarian: korifeus — chief or leader of an interest or party
  • Portuguese: corifeu — chief or leader of an interest or party
  • Russian: корифе́й (koriféj) — chief or leader of an interest or party
  • Serbo-Croatian: корифеј — chief or leader of an interest or party
  • Serbo-Croatian: korifej — chief or leader of an interest or party