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acrostic
acrostic , arrangement of words or lines in which a series of initial, final, or other corresponding letters, when taken together, stand in a set order to form a word, a phrase, the alphabet, or the like. A famous acrostic was made on the Greek for Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior: I esous Ch ristos, Th eou U ios, S oter ( ch and th being each one letter in Greek). The initials spell ichthus, Greek for fish; hence the frequent use of the fish by early Christians as a symbol for Jesus. There are several alphabetic acrostics (pertaining to the Hebrew alphabet) in the Bible, e.g., in Ps. 119 and Lamentations . Acrostic verses are common, and very elaborate puzzles have been devised combining several schemes. |
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"acrostic." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "acrostic." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-acrostic.html "acrostic." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-acrostic.html |
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acrostic
acrostic a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words. The word is recorded from the late 16th century, and comes via French from Greek akrostikhis, from akron ‘end’ + stikhos ‘row, line of verse’.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "acrostic." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "acrostic." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-acrostic.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "acrostic." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-acrostic.html |
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acrostic
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T. F. HOAD. "acrostic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "acrostic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-acrostic.html T. F. HOAD. "acrostic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-acrostic.html |
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acrostic
a·cros·tic / əˈkrôstik; əˈkräs-/ • n. a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words. |
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"acrostic." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "acrostic." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-acrostic.html "acrostic." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-acrostic.html |
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acrostic
acrostic
•achromatic, acrobatic, Adriatic, aerobatic, anagrammatic, aquatic, aristocratic, aromatic, Asiatic, asthmatic, athematic, attic, autocratic, automatic, axiomatic, bureaucratic, charismatic, chromatic, cinematic, climatic, dalmatic, democratic, diagrammatic, diaphragmatic, diplomatic, dogmatic, dramatic, ecstatic, emblematic, emphatic, enigmatic, epigrammatic, erratic, fanatic, hepatic, hieratic, hydrostatic, hypostatic, idiomatic, idiosyncratic, isochromatic, lymphatic, melodramatic, meritocratic, miasmatic, monochromatic, monocratic, monogrammatic, numismatic, operatic, panchromatic, pancreatic, paradigmatic, phlegmatic, photostatic, piratic, plutocratic, pneumatic, polychromatic, pragmatic, prelatic, prismatic, problematic, programmatic, psychosomatic, quadratic, rheumatic, schematic, schismatic, sciatic, semi-automatic, Socratic, somatic, static, stigmatic, sub-aquatic, sylvatic, symptomatic, systematic, technocratic, thematic, theocratic, thermostatic, traumatic
•anaphylactic, ataractic, autodidactic, chiropractic, climactic, didactic, galactic, lactic, prophylactic, syntactic, tactic
•asphaltic
•antic, Atlantic, corybantic, frantic, geomantic, gigantic, mantic, necromantic, pedantic, romantic, semantic, sycophantic, transatlantic
•synaptic
•bombastic, drastic, dynastic, ecclesiastic, elastic, encomiastic, enthusiastic, fantastic, gymnastic, iconoclastic, mastic, monastic, neoplastic, orgastic, orgiastic, pederastic, periphrastic, plastic, pleonastic, sarcastic, scholastic, scholiastic, spastic
•matchstick • candlestick • panstick
•slapstick • cathartic
•Antarctic, arctic, subantarctic, subarctic
•Vedantic • yardstick
•aesthetic (US esthetic), alphabetic, anaesthetic (US anesthetic), antithetic, apathetic, apologetic, arithmetic, ascetic, athletic, balletic, bathetic, cosmetic, cybernetic, diabetic, dietetic, diuretic, electromagnetic, emetic, energetic, exegetic, frenetic, genetic, Helvetic, hermetic, homiletic, kinetic, magnetic, metic, mimetic, parenthetic, pathetic, peripatetic, phonetic, photosynthetic, poetic, prophetic, prothetic, psychokinetic, splenetic, sympathetic, syncretic, syndetic, synthetic, telekinetic, theoretic, zetetic
•apoplectic, catalectic, dialectic, eclectic, hectic
•Celtic
•authentic, crescentic
•aseptic, dyspeptic, epileptic, nympholeptic, peptic, proleptic, sceptic (US skeptic), septic
•domestic, majestic
•cretic
•analytic, anchoritic, anthracitic, arthritic, bauxitic, calcitic, catalytic, critic, cryptanalytic, Cushitic, dendritic, diacritic, dioritic, dolomitic, enclitic, eremitic, hermitic, lignitic, mephitic, paralytic, parasitic, psychoanalytic, pyritic, Sanskritic, saprophytic, Semitic, sybaritic, syenitic, syphilitic, troglodytic
•apocalyptic, cryptic, diptych, elliptic, glyptic, styptic, triptych
•aoristic, artistic, autistic, cystic, deistic, distich, egoistic, fistic, holistic, juristic, logistic, monistic, mystic, puristic, sadistic, Taoistic, theistic, truistic, veristic
•fiddlestick
•dipstick, lipstick
•impolitic, politic
•polyptych • hemistich • heretic
•nightstick
•abiotic, amniotic, antibiotic, autoerotic, chaotic, demotic, despotic, erotic, exotic, homoerotic, hypnotic, idiotic, macrobiotic, meiotic, narcotic, neurotic, osmotic, patriotic, psychotic, quixotic, robotic, sclerotic, semiotic, symbiotic, zygotic, zymotic
•Coptic, optic, panoptic, synoptic
•acrostic, agnostic, diagnostic, gnostic, prognostic
•knobstick • chopstick • aeronautic
•Baltic, basaltic, cobaltic
•caustic • swordstick • photic • joystick
•psychotherapeutic, therapeutic
•acoustic • broomstick • cultic
•fustic, rustic
•drumstick • gearstick • lunatic
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"acrostic." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "acrostic." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-acrostic.html "acrostic." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-acrostic.html |
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