Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A ballet-dancer who takes a leading part.
  • noun In ornithology, an African bush-creeper, a species of Thamnobia, T. coryphæa.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Drama) A ballet dancer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A ballet dancer ranking above a member of the corps de ballet and below a soloist.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French, from Latin coryphaeus, from Ancient Greek κορυφαῖος (koruphaios, "leader"), from κορυφή (koruphē, "head").

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Examples

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Comments

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  • "Miss Hagman had the perfect life: a luxurious apartment, more than adequate means, and she was free to be a coryphée, to socialize with all manner of people—from royalty to artists."

    The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann, p 157

    July 2, 2013