A Roman Triumph Was an Actual Parade
A triumph is a great victory. In Rome it was a specific ceremony, granted by the senate and staged through the streets.
A triumph is a great success or victory. In Rome it was something precise: a ceremonial procession granted by the senate to a victorious general, who rode through the city with his army, his spoils and his prisoners. A slave was traditionally said to ride behind him, reminding him that he was mortal.
- A great victory. *A personal triumph.*
- A Roman victory procession. *He was awarded a triumph.*
- To succeed. *Common sense triumphed.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | triumph | A great triumph. |
| Plural | triumphs | Early triumphs. |
| Verb | triumph | Triumph over adversity. |
| Adjective | triumphant | A triumphant return. |
| Adjective | triumphal | A triumphal arch. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The evening was a triumph.A success.
- She triumphed over long odds.Triumph over.
- They passed under the triumphal arch.Built to commemorate a victory.
Triumphant or triumphal?
- Triumphant — feeling or showing triumph, of people
- Triumphal — commemorating a triumph, of objects and events
- Triumphal arch — a monument, not a happy one
- Ovation — a lesser Roman honour than a triumph
- Laurels — the wreath worn by the victor
From Latin *triumphus*, probably borrowed from Greek *thriambos*, a hymn to Dionysus. The Roman ceremony required specific conditions before the senate would grant it.
Triumphant or triumphal?
People are triumphant; monuments and processions are triumphal. A triumphal arch does not feel anything.
Did a slave really whisper to the general?
Ancient sources report a companion in the chariot reminding him of his mortality. The details vary, and some accounts may be later embellishment.