Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to or characterized by homosexual relations between women: This is the primary modern meaning, describing attraction, relationships, or culture pertaining to women who love women.
   • Relating to the poet Sappho or her poetry: Pertaining to the ancient Greek lyric poet Sappho from the island of Lesbos, or the metrical form she used.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Modern meaning):

  • The novel explores sapphic love in a historical setting.
  • She found a supportive community in the sapphic literary scene.

• Adjective (Literary/Historical meaning):

  • The scholar is an expert in sapphic poetry from the classical era.
  • He analyzed the sapphic stanza in his thesis on ancient metrics.

Advanced Usage

• As a cultural identifier: The term is often used in literary, academic, or formal contexts to describe art, literature, or relationships.
  • The film festival featured a series of sapphic narratives from around the world.

Variants and Related Words

• Sapphism (n): A synonym for lesbianism, derived from Sappho's name.
  • Historical texts sometimes use the term "sapphism."

Synonyms

• Lesbian: The most common direct synonym for the modern meaning.
• Homosexual (female-specific): Describing same-sex attraction between women.

Notes on Meaning

• The word originates from Sappho, the 7th-century BC Greek poet whose work expressed love and admiration for women, leading to the association with female homosexuality. The island she lived on, Lesbos, is the source of the more common term "lesbian."
• The sapphic stanza is a specific metrical form in poetry consisting of three lines of a particular pattern, named after her.

Adjective

1. of or relating to or characterized by homosexual relations between woman
2. a meter used by Sappho and named after her