ithyphallic

/ˌɪθɪˈfælɪk/

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin ithyphallicus, from Ancient Greek ἰθυφαλλικός (ithuphallikós), from ῑ̓θῠ́φαλλος (īthŭ́phallos, “phallus carried in festivals of Bacchus; ode sung in honour of the phallus; dance accompanying such an ode; dancer performing such a dance”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). ῑ̓θῠ́φαλλος is derived from ἰθῠ́ς (ithŭ́s) (variant of εὐθῠ́ς (euthŭ́s, “straight”)) + φαλλός (phallós, “penis; image of a penis, phallus”). The English word can be analysed as ithyphallus + -ic. As regards the noun, compare Latin ithyphallicum (“poem with the same metre as the hymns to Priapus”).

ithyphallic means of or pertaining to the erect phallus that was carried in bacchic processions. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

ITHYPHALLIC — [Adjective] Pertaining explicitly to an erect phallus, particularly as an object of ritual veneration in antiquity or as a formal attribute in art and poetry. From Late Latin *ithyphallicus*, from Ancient Greek ἰθυφαλλικός (ithuphallikós), from ἰθύς (ithús, "straight, erect") + φαλλός (phallós, "penis, phallus") + the adjectival suffix -ικός (-ikós). Unlike "phallic," which broadly symbolizes generative power, or "lascivious," which implies a leering intent, "ithyphallic" is a technical, almost clinical term for a state of urgent, ritualized tumescence. It is the painted terracotta figure held aloft in a Dionysian procession; the rigid, polished-marble herm marking a boundary; and the driving, insistent meter of a hymn meant to conjure fertile chaos—a word that coolly observes the body's most urgent signal, frozen in ritual, as if to prove that even ecstasy can be catalogued.

adj

Of or pertaining to the erect phallus that was carried in bacchic processions.“The title ΣΟΤΗΡ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ upon the composite priapic figure published by La Chausse is well known; and it is probable that the ithyphallic ceremonies, which the gross flattery of the degenerate Greeks sometimes employed to honor the Macedonian princes, had the same meaning as this title of Saviour, which was frequently conferred upon, or assumed by them.”
Of or pertaining to the erect phallus that was carried in bacchic processions.; Of a poem or song: having the metre of an ode sung in honour of the bacchic phallus.“Ithyphallic verse, which, because it consists of one periodic order, ought to have all pure trochees, and admits no other foot, except a tribrach, […] and that scarcely in the last place, because the rhythm ought to be more remiss at the end, is used chiefly by lyric poets in place of an epode.”
Of or pertaining to an upward pointing, erect penis; (specifically) of an artistic depiction of a deity or other figure: possessing an erect penis.“Phthas, the inscription in phonetic hieroglyphs Ptah, in close-fitting dress, with the feet joined together, leaning on the platform consisting of four steps[…]. Also dwarfish and ithyphallic as in the temple at Memphis[…].”
Lascivious, obscene.“[I]t is specially desirable to be able to discern the difference […] between the "εὐνῇ καὶ φιλότητι" or "φιλότητι καὶ εὐνῇ μιγῆναι" of the Iliad and Odyssey, and an ithyphallic audacity that insults what is most sacred and decent among men.”
Pertaining to a metrical combination of two trochees followed by one spondee.

noun

A poem or song in an ithyphallic metre.“And vvanton Catullus, comparing a heauie fellovv, vnvvorthily bleſt vvith a Delicacie in the marriage bed, to a log, hath this Ithyphallique: Talis iſte meus Stupor nil videt, nihil audit. [Such a dolt as this one of mine sees nothing, hears nothing.]”
A lascivious or obscene poem or song.“I omit noticing some edifying Ithyphallics of Savagius, wishing to keep the proper veil over them, if his grave but somewhat indiscreet worshipper will suffer it; but certainly these teachers of "great moral lessons" are apt to be found in strange company.”