philippic
/fɪˈlɪpɪk/noun
philippic is spelled P-H-I-L-I-P-P-I-C: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 45 million words in written English, the 206,808th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, philippic means “Any of the discourses of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon, defending the liberty of Athens” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of philippic is philippics.
How many letters and syllables are in philippic?
| Letters | 9: P-H-I-L-I-P-P-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 45 million words; the 206,808th 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 philippic?
Philippic appears about once in every 45 million words in written English, the 206,808th 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 philippic?
- /fɪˈlɪpɪk/
Philippic 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-philippic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of philippic
- philippics plural
- philippick
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does philippic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of the discourses of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon, defending the liberty of Athens.
- 2
Any tirade or declamation full of bitter condemnation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Philippic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any tirade or declamation full of bitter condemnation:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | philippique |
| German | Philippika |
| Spanish | filípica |
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 philippic come from?
From Latin philippicus, from Ancient Greek φιλιππικός (philippikós), from Φίλιππος (Phílippos, “lover of horses”), from φίλος (phílos, “loving”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).