Anacreontic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˌnakɹɪˈɒntɪk/

Definitions

1. Relating to or characterized by convivial drinking songs celebrating love, wine, and revelry in the style of the ancient Greek poet Anacreon
2. Pertaining to lyrical poetry that focuses on themes of wine, love, and the joys of life in a manner reminiscent of the ancient Greek poet Anacreon
3. Denoting a style of verse that joyfully explores romantic themes and the pleasures of drinking, inspired by Anacreon's works

Etymology: Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet of the sixth century BCE, from the island of Teos, whose surviving verses celebrated wine, love and music in short, light metres. Long after his own time, admirers grouped imitations of his style under his name, and the Latin "Anacreonticus" was formed from it to describe that kind of poem. The English adjective "anacreontic" is a direct descendant of that Late Latin formation, so the word carries the poet's name almost unchanged. What it describes is a particular manner rather than a subject alone: lyrics that are playful, convivial and fond of drink, written in a graceful, unpretentious style. The adjective is most often applied to verse of this kind, and a reader who meets it can expect the tone of a poet at a symposium rather than a solemn ode.