Meaning & use
callipygian
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Having beautifully shaped buttocks, or relating to such a shape; a rare and usually playful word.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be, mostly in jokes or art writing: a callipygian statue.
Patterns
- a callipygian figure
The museum's most famous statue is a callipygian goddess.
The critic joked about the sculptor's callipygian obsession.
Few people know the word callipygian, and fewer still use it.
Common combinations
- callipygian Venus
- The callipygian Venus is an ancient statue named for this feature.
- callipygian statue
- Tourists photographed the callipygian statue in the gallery.
- callipygian figure
- The painter favored a callipygian figure in his nudes.
- callipygian curve
- The sculptor emphasized the callipygian curve of the marble.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shapely
- Shapely is an everyday word for a pleasing body shape, while callipygian is learned and specific to the rear.
- well-rounded
- Well-rounded is a lighter, humorous alternative, whereas callipygian sounds scholarly.
- curvaceous
- Curvaceous describes the whole figure, while callipygian refers only to the buttocks.
Word family
- callipygous adjective
- a rarer variant with the same meaning
- Callipyge proper noun
- a name for the Greek Venus statue
- calligraphy noun
- beautiful writing, sharing the Greek root meaning beautiful
Commonly confused: callipygian or calligraphic?
callipygian vs calligraphic
Calligraphic relates to decorative handwriting, not to the body.
Practice
The art historian used the word ______ to describe the statue's gracefully curved rear.
Choose one answer.
Callipygian refers to beautifully shaped buttocks. Calligraphic looks similar but relates to fancy handwriting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “callipygian”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.