Paean

noun

Musical ode, particularly a hymn or other solemn or ceremonial music with text, celebrating a person or thing
An act or thing that hails, extols, or otherwise highlights

Usage

We all like it when our successes are appreciated and celebrated by others, but whereas today such acknowledgment usually takes the form of a compliment, or maybe a thank you note, in ages past it might have been sung as a stirring song or a poetic ode. Although we don’t often literally sing each other’s praises anymore, the word from those times long gone when we did, paean, remains with us today. Clearly paean deserves to be hailed for its longevity!

A paean is a song, usually a solemn or noble one such as an ode or a hymn, that is sung in celebration of someone’s glory, triumph, or other meritorious distinction. Most of the time, such music has text of some kind, but so long as it is performed or written in someone’s honor, it need not have lyrics to be considered a paean. Additionally, a poetic ode which extols yet includes no music could be regarded as a paean, although this is also uncommon. Thus, an orchestra could play a paean to its country’s accomplishments, a chorus could sing a paean as part of a ritual memorializing some achievement, or a poet could read a paean in honor of a distinguished public servant.

Metaphorically, a paean can also be any deed, event or thing which lauds or stands as a testament to something or someone. While there are certainly many acts by which one can distinguish a person or thing, a paean usually implies a gesture which is grand, eloquent, or highly deferential. For instance, a salute to, or even just speaking well of, a military leader would not be a paean, but a lengthy op-ed piece praising their excellent stratagems would be. Sometimes, paean in this sense is used to illustrate or suggest that the author is being too flattering or ingratiating. For example, if a student emphatically thanked his teacher for the learning opportunity she afforded him by assigning him extra homework, a classmate might remark (equally pretentiously), “There he goes again, sucking up to the teacher with grand paean of thanks.” Above all, whether a literal ode or a figurative one, a paean makes for high praise!

Example: The national anthem for an Olympic gold medalist’s country is played as a paean to their athletic prowess.

Example: The blogger wrote a paean to the new movie’s director for her artistry as a filmmaker.

Example: The special exhibit at the museum was a paean to the sculptor’s dexterity.

Origin

The root of the word paean comes from the Greek paian, which was the word for an ode or hymn to Apollo. This latter term took its name from that of the ancient Greek god Paian, who was the healer of the other Greek gods, and whose lore and powers were eventually appropriated by Apollo, which is how he came to be associated with paian. The name Paian comes from the Greek word paio, meaning “to touch,” as in a mystic, healing touch. The Greek paian, evolved into the Latin word paean, meaning “hymn of salvation,” before entering English in the late-16^th century in its present form.

Derivative Words

Pean: Along with serving as an alternative spelling of paean, pean is also a noun for a pattern, used in crests and other insignia, consisting of a yellow or gold background speckled with black spots.

Example: The citizens of the autocratic regime sang a pean to their glorious leader with terrifying devotion.

Example: A leopard is known for the pean it has for a fur coat.

In Literature

From Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story:

I reveled in the smallness, the coziness of an upstairs bedroom in a traditional American Cape Cod house the half-floor that forces you to duck, to feel small and naive again, ready for anything, dying for love, your body a chimney filled with odd, black smoke. These square, squat, awkward rooms are like a fifty-square-foot paean to teenage-hood, to ripeness, to the first and last taste of youth.

In this passage, the narrator remarks that the compact, but inviting, interior of this New England house so aptly hearkens back to the dalliances of youth that the entire space serves as a crowning testament, or paean, to the teenage experience.

Mnemonic

You should accompany a paean on a piano, so the ode is sung in tune!
Many feudal peons would sing paeans to their king.