coryphée

noun

co·​ry·​phée ˌkȯr-i-ˈfā How to pronounce coryphée (audio)
: a ballet dancer who dances in a small group instead of in the corps de ballet or as a soloist

Word History

Etymology

French, from Latin coryphaeus

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of coryphée was in 1828

Dictionary Entries Near coryphée

coryphaeus

coryphée

coryphene

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Coryphée.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coryph%C3%A9e. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

Copy Citation

Share

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Games & Quizzes

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...