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Definition of "epithalamium" [ep•i•tha•la•mi•um]

  • A lyric ode in honor of a bride and bridegroom. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "epithalamium" in a sentence
  • "Ennodius, deacon of Milan under Theodoric and later Bishop of Pavia, inveighed against the impious person who carried a statue of Minerva to a disorderly house, and himself under pretext of an "epithalamium" wrote light and trivial verses."
  • "[1] This ode is introduced in the Romance of Theodorus Prodromus, and is that kind of epithalamium which was sung like a scolium at the nuptial banquet."
  • "England's current poet laureate, Andrew Motion, has contrived some well-made poems for royal occasions, most notably "Spring Wedding," a delicately turned epithalamium for Price Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles that even manages a careful allusion to the death of Princess Diana."