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A.Word.A.Day--dionysiac

Dionysiac (die-uh-NIS-ee-ak) adjective

1. Of or relating to Dionysus, the god of wine and of an orgiastic religion celebrating the power and fertility of nature. Of or relating to Dionysia, ancient Greek festivals held seasonally, chiefly at Athens, in honor of Dionysus.

2. Often dionysiac. Ecstatic or wild; Dionysian.

[Latin Dionysiacus, from Greek Dionusiakos, from Dionusios.]

"Its `heady cocktail of flippancy, camp sensibility and Dionysiac naughtiness' are among the attributes New York critic Clive Barnes admired in a recent Broadway production of Noel Coward's `Private Lives.'" Nadine Goff, Rep's `Private Lives' to Unfold, Wisconsin State Journal, 5 Jan 1995.

This week's theme: words from Greek mythology.

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