euterpean means of or pertaining to the mythological figure Euterpe, or to music. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “euterpean” is a great word
EUTERPEAN — [Adjective] Of or pertaining to the mythological muse Euterpe or, by extension, to music. From the name of the Greek muse Euterpe (from Greek Εὐτέρπη, from εὖ ("well") + τέρπειν ("to delight")) + the English suffix -an ("of or pertaining to"). Unlike "musical," a general and utilitarian term, or "terpsichorean," which belongs exclusively to the muse of dance, "euterpean" evokes music as a sacred, classical inheritance. It is the plucked string resonating in a marble courtyard, the disciplined harmony of a choir in a vaulted chapel, and the perfect structure of a fugue—a reminder that art was once not mere sound, but a votive offering of well-wrought delight.
Etymology
From Euterpe + -an.
adj
- Of or pertaining to the mythological figure Euterpe, or to music.“G. P. REED is well known to the patrons and professors of Music in the Euterpean city of Boston.”
name
- Any of various musical, theatre, or literary societies, especially the Euterpean Society (A New York instrumentalist society and considered the oldest American musical society, active from 1799 to 1846).“The renowned "Philharmonic Society" of the present day was evolved from the "Euterpean”.”
- Euterpean Hall, a theatre in New York City, on the east side of Broadway, near Walker Street, which later became the Broadway Theatre.“The business done at the Euterpean was very shy, and the prospect of any of the company — among whom, by-the-by, was Blakely, an old Park actor, as well as a National — was very doubtful.”
noun
- A member of one of the various Euterpean clubs or societies.“Up to January 1, 1892, of the three hundred and eighty-eight college students who had attended Muhlenberg, two hundred were Euterpeans.”