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Origin and history of panegyric

panegyric(n.)

"eulogy, laudation, praise bestowed upon some person, action, or character," c. 1600, from French panégyrique (1510s), from Latin panegyricus "public eulogy," originally an adjective, "for a public festival," from Greek panēgyrikos (logos) "(a speech) given in or addressed to a public assembly," from panēgyris "public assembly (especially in honor of a god)," from pan- "all" (see pan-) + agyris "place of assembly," Aeolic form of agora (see agora). Related: Panegyrical; panegyrist.

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to panegyric

agora(n.)

1590s, "open assembly place, chief public square and marketplace of a town; popular political assembly held in such a place," from Greek agora "an assembly of the People" (as opposed to a council of Chiefs); "the place of assembly; a marketplace" (the typical spot for such an assembly), from ageirein "to assemble" (from PIE root *ger- "to gather").

The Greek word also could mean "public speaking," and "things to be sold." For sense, compare Roman forum.

pan-

word-forming element meaning "all, every, whole, all-inclusive," from Greek pan-, combining form of pas (neuter pan, masculine and neuter genitive pantos) "all," from PIE *pant- "all" (with derivatives found only in Greek and Tocharian).

Commonly used as a prefix in Greek (before a labial pam-; before a guttural pag-), in modern times often with nationality names, the first example of which seems to have been Panslavism (1846). Also panislamic (1881), pan-American (1889), pan-German (1892), pan-African (1900), pan-European (1901), pan-Arabism (1930).

*ger-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to gather." 

It might form all or part of: aggregate; aggregation; agora; agoraphobia; allegory; category; congregate; cram; egregious; gregarious; panegyric; paregoric; segregate.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit gramah "heap, troop;" Greek ageirein "to assemble," agora "assembly;" Latin grex "flock, herd," gremium "bosom, lap;" Old Church Slavonic grusti "handful," gramota "heap;" Lithuanian gurgulys "chaos, confusion," gurguolė "crowd, mass;" Old English crammian "press something into something else."

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    paean
    "hymn of praise, song of triumph;" in general use, "a loud and joyous song," 1590s, from Latin paean "hymn of deliverance, hymn to a help-giving god," from Greek paian "hymn, chant, hymn to Apollo," from Paian, Paiōn, a name of the god of healing; originally the physician of the
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