winged word
UK/ˌwɪŋd ˈwɜːd/US/ˌwɪŋd ˈwɝd/
winged word noun: a word or statement which is very apt for an occasion, or memorable.
Noun
winged word (plural winged words)
- A word or statement which is very apt for an occasion, or memorable.
- [Polyhymnia] For the ſweet numbers and melodious meaſures, / With which I wont the winged words to tie, / And make a tunefull Diapaſe of pleaſures, / Now being let to runne at libertie / By thoſe which haue no skill to rule them right, / Haue now quite loſt their naturall delight.1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “The Teares of the Muses”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC
- The ſubtle Tyrians, who did firſt invent, / Our winged words, in Barks of Trees to print: […]1633, [Guillaume de Salluste] Du Bartas, “[Bethulia’s Rescue. […].] The Third Book.”, in Josuah Sylvester, transl., Du Bartas His Diuine Weekes and Workes […], London: […] Robert Young, →OCLC, page...
- Synonyms:
- mot juste
Examples of winged word in a sentence
- His ſupplicating voice he raiſed: And poured theſe winged words, in his ruthleſs ears: […]1773, Homer, “Book XXI”, in James Macpherson, transl., The Iliad of Homer. […], volume II, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […]...
- Homer, the master-builder and rebel against time, in whom the conviction that the ‘winged word’ shall outlast death speaks out in constant jubilation, goes blind.1966, George Steiner, “Silence and the Poet”, in Language and Silence: Essays 1958–1966, London: Faber and Faber, published 2010, →ISBN...
- [A] proverb is a winged word, outliving the fleeting moment.1998, James L. Crenshaw, “The Pursuit of Knowledge: Proverbs”, in Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction, revised edition, Louisville, Ky....
- Homer often speaks of epea pteroenta, "winged words": in traditional interpretations, this metaphor stood for the swift and lofty birdlike flight of language, particularly poetic language.2007, Piero Boitani, “Epilogue: Winged Words”, in Winged Words: Flight in Poetry and History, EasyRead Large edition, U.S.A....
Synonyms of winged word
Forms of winged word
| plural | winged words |
|---|
Origin of winged word
Calque of Ancient Greek ἔπεα πτερόεντα (épea pteróenta), often used by Homer (said to have been born c. 750 B.C.E.), to whom the Iliad and Odyssey are attributed: from ἔπεᾰ (épeă) (plural of ἔπος (épos, “something spoken: song, speech, story”)) + πτερόεντα (pteróenta) (plural of πτερόεις (pteróeis, “feathered; winged”), from πτερόν (pterón, “feather; wing”) + -εις (-eis, suffix forming adjectives with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing a quality)).
Words that rhyme with winged word
35 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about winged word
- What does winged word mean?
- Winged word means a word or statement which is very apt for an occasion, or memorable.
- How do you use winged word in a sentence?
- His ſupplicating voice he raiſed: And poured theſe winged words, in his ruthleſs ears: […]
- What part of speech is winged word?
- Winged word is a noun.
- How do you pronounce winged word?
- Winged word is pronounced /ˌwɪŋd ˈwɜːd/ (UK).
- What is the plural of winged word?
- The plural of winged word is winged words.
Words near winged word in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: winged word (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-winged word.ogg.
Cite this entry: “winged word.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/winged_word. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.