Pyrrhic - a podcast by Word of the Day

Pyrrhic is an adjective that means ‘achieved at an excessive cost.’

The origin of the word pyrrhic comes Pyrrhus (PIER hoos) from an Ancient king of a region of Greece called Epirus. This king’s army defeated the Romans in a key battle in 279 BC, but sustained heavy losses. Our word of the day alludes to this.

My daughter’s win at the spelling bee may have been a pyrrhic victory. She won the contest, but lost a few friends out of envy.

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