peripeteia
English
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peripeteia
- /pɛɹɪpɪˈtɪə/ UK
- /pɛɹɪpɪˈtaɪə/ UK
- /pɛɹɪpɪˈtiə/ US
- /pɛɹɪpɪˈteɪə/ US
Where it comes from
From Late Latin peripetia, and its source Ancient Greek περιπέτεια (peripéteia), from περιπίπτω (peripíptō, “to change suddenly”), from περί (perí, “round, around, about”) + the stem of πίπτω (píptō, “to fall”).
noun peripeteias · peripetia · peripety
- A sudden reversal of fortune as a plot point in Classical tragedy. If we recoil with the consternation of surprise at such a conclusion, it is no defense to invoke as parallel the peripeteia by which Euripides in his Ion leads us to expect one ending yet effects another.
- Any sudden change in circumstances; a crisis. Once more I was a man in a myth, incapable of understanding it, but somehow aware that understanding it meant it must continue, however sinister its peripeteia.
- A turning point in psychosocial development. The visual moment whose consequences Freud began to ponder in the essay on the phallic stage has evolved into a peripeteia: "Some day or other it happens that the child whose own penis is such a proud possession obtains a sight of the genital parts of a little girl; he must then become convinced of
Translations
Talk about this word "peripeteia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/peripeteia. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. peripeteia. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/peripeteia "peripeteia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/peripeteia.Cite this
@misc{peripeteia_2026,
title = {peripeteia},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/peripeteia},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
