• paean •
Printable Version Pronunciation: pee-ên • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: 1. A song of praise. 2. A song, poem, or other expression of profound joy, gratitude, or triumph.
Notes: The original paean was a hymn of praise sung to Apollo or other gods for safety before going into battle or on other occasions. Do not confuse today's Good Word with a peon [pee-ahn] "serf, drudge, underpaid worker", with the stronger second syllable. No one would write a paean to a peon.
In Play: Paeans tend to be formal expressions of praise or triumph, "Gladys Dunn's farewell speech was a paean to all those she had worked for without a crumb of recognition for those who had worked for her." Are you tired of apologizing for the state of your home? Try this instead: "My house is a passionate paean to disorder."
Word History: Today's Good Word is an exact copy of Latin paean "hymn of thanksgiving". The Romans simply transliterated the Greek paian, a commonization of Paian, the Greek name for the god Apollo. No one really knows where this name comes from. It may have originated in the name of the physician of the gods, Paian, who later merged with Apollo. (No better source for a word as Greek as today's than the Stargazer of our Alpha Agora, Larry Brady)
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