Standard Lemma guide

dithyramb

noun · 5 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈdɪθ.ɪ.ɹæm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH1 TH ER0 AE2 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A raucous and ardent choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A poem or oration in the same style.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An impassioned speech; a rant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: admonition, condemnation, diatribe, dithyramb, harangue, impugnation, j'accuse, jeremiad, philippic, polemic, rant, screed, slanging match, tirade

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

(ancient Greece) a passionate hymn (usually in honor of Dionysus)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hymn, anthem

5

noun

Meaning 5

a wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: writing, written material, piece of writing, address, speech

History

Etymology

From Latin dithyrambus, from Ancient Greek δῑθύραμβος (dīthúrambos). According to the American Heritage Dictionary, it is of non-Indo-European origin (Pre-Greek substrate, Illyrian/Phrygian), related to θρίαμβος (thríambos) and ἴαμβος (íambos). Brandenstein also compares Sanskrit अङ्ग (aṅga, “member”).

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Basque: ditiranbo — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Belarusian: дыфіра́мб (dyfirámb) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Bulgarian: дитира́мб (ditirámb) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Catalan: ditirambe — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Esperanto: ditirambo — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Estonian: ditüramb — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Finnish: dityrambi — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • French: dithyrambe — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • German: Dithyrambos — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Greek: διθύραμβος (dithýramvos) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Ancient Greek: διθύραμβος (dithúrambos) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Hungarian: dithürambosz — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Ido: ditirambo — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Italian: ditirambo — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Macedonian: дитирамб (ditiramb) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Norwegian: dityrambe — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Polish: dytyramb — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Russian: дифира́мб (difirámb) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Slovak: dityramb — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Spanish: ditirambo — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Ukrainian: дифіра́мб (dyfirámb) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Ukrainian: дитира́мб (dytyrámb) — a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus
  • Finnish: dityrambi — a poem or oration in the same style
  • French: dithyrambe — a poem or oration in the same style
  • Norwegian Bokmål: høystemt lovsang — a poem or oration in the same style
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: høgstemt(d) lovsong — a poem or oration in the same style
  • Polish: dytyramb — a poem or oration in the same style
  • Russian: дифира́мб (difirámb) — a poem or oration in the same style