dithyramb

noun /ˈdɪθ.ɪ.ɹæm/

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

   Now of the numerical constitution of the chorus before Aeschylus we know nothing; but to him, in the Suppliant Maidens at least, it was a happy coincidence that the myth gave to Danaüs fifty daughters, a number exactly equal to that of the chorus of the dithyramb, from which tragedy itself had sprung.

2. A poem or oration in the same style.

   In dithyramb or dogma turn frenetic; — Than whom no writer could be less poetic He left this lesson for all verse, all art.

   While those who drown a truth’s empiric part

3. An impassioned speech; a rant.

Where it comes from

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”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry dithyramb (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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