dithyramb
/ˈdɪθ.ɪ.ɹæm/noun
dithyramb is spelled D-I-T-H-Y-R-A-M-B: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 78 million words in written English, the 279,513th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dithyramb means “A raucous and ardent choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dithyramb is dithyrambs.
How many letters and syllables are in dithyramb?
| Letters | 9: D-I-T-H-Y-R-A-M-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 78 million words; the 279,513th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dithyramb?
Dithyramb appears about once in every 78 million words in written English, the 279,513th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dithyramb?
- /ˈdɪθ.ɪ.ɹæm/
Dithyramb has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dithyramb.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dithyramb
- dithyrambs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dithyramb mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A raucous and ardent choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus.
- 2
A poem or oration in the same style.
- 3
An impassioned speech; a rant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dithyramb in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dithyrambe |
| German | Dithyrambos |
| Spanish | ditirambo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dithyramb come 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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).