callipygian
- Having well-shaped or finely formed buttocks.
In a sentence
- The museum's prized Hellenistic sculpture, celebrated for its callipygian form, drew visitors from across the country.
- The fashion writer applied the term callipygian with mock scholarly gravity to describe the era's silhouette-defining styles.
Usage note. Callipygian is a learned, often humorous word; its classical weight makes it useful for ironic or elevated registers, but it can sound pedantic or silly in straightforward contexts.
Where it comes from
English callipygian · entered English 18th–19th c.
From Greek 'kallipygos,' composed of 'kallos' (beauty) and 'pyge' (buttocks). The term is famously associated with the ancient statue known as the Venus Callipyge. It entered English in the late 18th to early 19th century, primarily in art-historical and classical scholarship contexts.