anabasis

noun

anab·a·sis | \ ə-ˈna-bə-səs

\

plural anabases\-ˌsēz

\

Definition of anabasis

1 : a going or marching up : advance especially : a military advance

2 [ from the retreat of Greek mercenaries in Asia Minor described in the Anabasis of Xenophon ] : a difficult and dangerous military retreat

Did You Know?

The first sense of anabasis follows logically enough from its roots. In Greek, the word originally meant "inland march"; it is derived from anabainein, meaning "to go up or inland," which is formed by combining the prefix ana- ("up") and bainein ("to go"). The second and opposite sense, however, comes from an anabasis gone wrong. In 401 B.C., Greek mercenaries fighting for Cyrus the Younger marched into the Persian Empire only to find themselves cut off hundreds of miles from home. As a result, they were forced to undertake an arduous and embattled retreat across unknown territories. Xenophon, a Greek historian who accompanied the mercenaries on the march, wrote the epic narrative Anabasis about this experience, and consequently anabasis came to mean a dramatic retreat as well as an advance.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about anabasis

Listen to Our Podcast about anabasis

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near anabasis

Statistics for anabasis

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for anabasis

The first known use of anabasis was circa 1706

See more words from the same year

WORD OF THE DAY

atone

to make amends

Test Your Vocabulary

Musical Words Quiz

Which word describes a musical performance marked by the absence of instrumental accompaniment?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games