pyrrhic1
/ˈpɪrɪk
/adjective
(Of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.Unless that is done, any military success in Afghanistan will be a pyrrhic victory....
- But, as 2002 revealed, it had been a pyrrhic victory.
- I don't know where the pain-killer story will lead, but the football story is probably a pyrrhic victory for the thought control police.
Origin
Late 19th century: from the name Pyrrhus + -ic.
pyrrhic2
/ˈpɪrɪk/noun
A metrical foot of two short or unaccented syllables.
Origin
Early 17th century: via Latin from Greek purrhikhios (pous) 'pyrrhic (foot)', the metre of a song accompanying a war dance, named after Purrhikhos, inventor of the dance.