Pyrrhic Victory
Greek Pýrrhos, Pyrrhus + Latin victōria, victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that comes at such a great cost that it is tantamount to defeat. The person or entity who "wins" suffers such devastating losses in achieving the victory that it essentially nullifies any sense of achievement or profit.
First principles
A Pyrrhic victory is a win that costs more than it gains.
It is still a real victory: the battle is won, the case is closed, the title is taken. But winning uses up what was needed to go on, so the winner comes out weaker than before. The phrase applies wherever the cost of winning outweighs the benefits, and it judges a win by what is left afterwards, not by the moment it is claimed.
At its core, it asks:
- What did it cost?Count every loss the win required, not just the prize it brought.
- What is left?Measure what remains to carry on with once the winning is over.
- Could you afford another?If one more win like this would ruin you, this one was already a loss.
Etymology
- ΠύρροςPýrrhos
- Pyrrhus, king of Epirus
- victōria
- victory
The phrase Pyrrhic victory joins a Greek name to a Latin word. Pyrrhic comes from Pyrrhus, in Greek Πύρρος (Pýrrhos), from πυρρός (pyrrhós) meaning "flame-colored," from πῦρ (pŷr), "fire." Victory came into English through Old French victorie from the Latin victōria, from victor, "conqueror," a noun formed from vincere, "to conquer." The phrase remembers King Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BCE and at Asculum in 279 BCE but lost men he could not replace. After the second battle, in Plutarch's account, Pyrrhus remarked: "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined."