Encomium
//ɛnˈkoʊ.mɪ.əm// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Warm praise, especially a formal expression of such praise; a tribute.
"I rejoined our people, and expected a reprimand for having forced the enemy without orders; though I had my excuse ready. But here I was mistaken; for I met with nothing but encomiums."
- 2 a formal expression of praise wordnet
- 3 A general category of oratory. rhetoric
- 4 A method within rhetorical pedagogy. rhetoric
- 5 The eighth exercise in the progymnasmata series.
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- 6 A genre of literature that included five elements: prologue, birth and upbringing, acts of the person's life, comparisons used to praise the subject, and an epilogue.
Example
More examples"Encomium is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek enkomion, meaning "the praise of a person or thing.""
Etymology
From Latin encōmium (“praise, eulogy”), from Ancient Greek ἐγκώμιον (enkṓmion, “laudatory ode, praise”), from ἐγκώμιος (enkṓmios, “of or pertaining to the victor”), from κῶμος (kômos, “festival, revel, ode”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.