diatribe
/ˈdaɪ.əˌtɹaɪb/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.58 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A prolonged discourse; a long-winded speech.
Example Sentences
- "to throw a diatribe"
- "The senator was prone to diatribes which could go on for more than an hour."
- "“… No rogue e’er felt the halter draw, with a good opinion of the law, and perhaps my own detestation of the law arises from my having frequently broken it. If this long diatribe bores you, just say so, and I’ll cut it short.”"
- "You know, it’s all this racial diatribe, and very strong language, screaming at the top of his lungs into the telephone."
- "Aunt Petunia wasn’t eating anything at all. Her arms were folded, her lips were pursed and she seemed to be chewing her tongue, as though biting back the furious diatribe she longed to throw at Harry."
- "Lest this [be] read as a diatribe against DfT, I have some sympathy with it. That's because whenever there's a problem with the railway, the industry's solution is to ask DfT for billions of pounds."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *dwísder. Ancient Greek διά (diá) Ancient Greek δῐᾰ- (dĭă-) Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der. Ancient Greek τρῑ́βω (trī́bō) Ancient Greek δῐᾰτρῑ́βω (dĭătrī́bō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek δῐᾰτρῐβή (dĭătrĭbḗ)der. Latin diatribader. French diatribebor. English diatribe First attested 1581, borrowed from French diatribe, from Latin diatriba (“learned discussion or discourse”), from Ancient Greek διατριβή (diatribḗ, “way of spending time, lecture”), from διά (diá, “through”) + τρίβω (tríbō, “to waste, wear out”)
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: *terh₁-, diatribe, diatriba, διατριβή