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Origin and history of Pyrrhic

Pyrrhic(adj.)

"of or pertaining to King Pyrrhus of Epirus," 1885, usually in the phrase Pyrrhic victory "success obtained at too great a cost," in reference to Pyrrhus's rout of Roman armies at Asculum, in Apulia, 279 B.C.E., which came at such cost to his own troops that he was unable to follow up and attack Rome itself, and is said to have remarked, "one more such victory and we are lost." The name is Greek and means "reddish" or "red-haired," from pyrrhos "flame-colored," from pyr "fire" (from PIE root *paewr- "fire").

pyrrhic(n.)

"dance in armor" (1590s), also a type of metrical foot of two short syllables (1620s), from Latin pyrrhicha, from Greek pyrrikhē orkhēsis, the war-dance of ancient Greece, in quick and light measure, accompanied by the flute, traditionally named for its inventor, Pyrrikhos. The name means "reddish, red-haired," from pyrrhos "flame-colored," from pyr "fire" (from PIE root *paewr- "fire"). As an adjective, "of or pertaining to the pyrrhic," from 1749.

also from 1590s

Entries linking to Pyrrhic

Cadmean victory(n.)

c. 1600, "victory involving one's own ruin," translating Greek Kadmeia nikē, from Cadmus (Greek Kadmos), legendary hero-founder of Thebes in Boeotia and bringer of the original sixteen-letter alphabet to Greece. The term probably is a reference to the story of Cadmus and the "Sown-Men," who fought each other till only a handful were left alive. Compare Pyrrhic (adj.1).

pierrot(n.)

1733, stock buffoonish character in pantomime, also a popular character in masked balls, from French Pierrot, diminutive form of Pierre. The character originates in Italian commedia dell'arte, usually said to be the character Pedrolino (diminutive of Pedro or Pietro, the Italian equivalent to Pierre) but an older stock character, Pirro, might be the source, in which case it derives from the name Pyrrhus (see pyrrhic). He has a whitened face, a costume white or with white stripes, large and loose, occasionally with overly-long sleeves. The fem. form is Pierrette. Related: Pierrotic.

*paewr-

*paəwr-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "fire."

It might form all or part of: antipyretic; burro; empyreal; empyrean; fire; pyracanth; pyre; pyretic; pyrexia; pyrite; pyro-; pyrolusite; pyromania; pyrrhic; sbirro.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit pu, Hittite pahhur "fire;" Armenian hur "fire, torch;" Czech pyr "hot ashes;" Greek pyr, Umbrian pir "fire;" Old English fyr, German Feuer "fire."

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