/ ˈsæfɪk; NAmE / noun
( formal ) relating to lesbians
► sap·phism / ˈsæfɪzəm; NAmE / noun [ U ]
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WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent. (originally relating to Sappho or her poetry): from French saphique , via Latin from Greek Sapphikos , from Sapphō . Sapphō was a Greek lyric poet who lives on Lesbos in early 7th century BC. Many of her poems express love and affection for women.