Sapphic
/ˈsæfɪk/noun
Relating to the ancient Greek poet Sappho or to romantic and sexual attraction between women.
Did you know?The modern sexual sense developed from Sappho’s poetry and her home on Lesbos, which also gave English the word “lesbian.”
Etymological Timeline
Archaic Greek, 7th–6th Century BCE
Greek
Σαπφώ (Sapphō)
“The personal name of Sappho, the poet from the island of Lesbos”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Σαπφικός (Sapphikos)
“Of or relating to Sappho; also describing poetic forms associated with her”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Σαπφικὴ στροφή (Sapphikē strophē)
“The Sapphic stanza, a lyric verse form traditionally associated with Sappho”
Latin, Antiquity
Latin
Sapphicus
“Of Sappho or her poetry”
16th Century
English
Sapphic
“Relating to Sappho or her verse”
Modern English
English
sapphic
“Relating to female same-sex desire, as well as to Sappho or her poetic tradition”