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sapphic

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Sapphic¹

  • /ˈsæf.ɪk/ UK, US

Rhymes with -æfɪk

Where it comes from

Sappho (Ancient Greek Σαπφώ (Sapphṓ)) + -ic, whence Latin Sapphicus. Sense related to sexuality alludes to Sappho's poetry discussing love between women (see also lesbian).

adjective Sapphick

  1. not comparable Relating to the Greek poetess Sappho from Lesbos or her poetry.
  2. not comparable Of a certain kind of verse reputed to have been invented by Sappho, consisting of five metrical feet, of which the first, fourth, and fifth are trochees, the second is a spondee, and the third a dactyl.
  3. not comparable Alternative letter-case form of sapphic

noun Sapphics · Sapphick

  1. A Sapphic verse. His Sapphics, on the story of Bacchus and Ariadne, are easy, elegant, and poetical.
  2. A person who is sapphic. 'Very good,” he said, 'although I must confess that the older I get, the less I am able to enjoy the company of women – except of course our own dear Enid who is so notorious a Sapphic as to be virtually hors concours.

sapphic²

  • /ˈsæfɪk/ UK, US

Rhymes with -æfɪk

Where it comes from

From Sapphic.

adjective

  1. not comparable Lesbian, relating to lesbianism, or (broadly) to women who are attracted (not necessarily exclusively) to women. Clinton and I became peripherally involved with a pair of Leckford Road girls who, principally sapphic in their interests, would arrange for sessions of group frolic.

noun sapphics

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Sapphic Though they will not satisfy Mr. T. S. Omond's rules of quantity, and cannot be expected to reach Swinburne's exquisite sense of its balance, they give far more idea of the rhythm of Sappho than the body of English sapphics by other writers.

Translations

Every language

adj relating to the Greek poetess Sappho or her poetry

Españolsáfico, lesbio
Portuguêssáfico
Françaissaphique

adj relating to lesbianism

Españolsáfico
Françaislesbien
Deutschsapphisch
Italianosaffico
Русскийлесби́йский lesbíjskij

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MLA

"sapphic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sapphic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sapphic. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sapphic

Chicago

"sapphic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sapphic.

BibTeX
@misc{sapphic_2026,
  title = {sapphic},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sapphic},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}