Question

anabasis noun The first sense of anabasis follows logically enough from its roots. In Greek, the word originally meant "inland march"; it is derived from anabainein, meaning "to go up or inland," which is formed by combining the prefix ana- ("up") and bainein ("to go"). The second and opposite sense, however, comes from an anabasis gone wrong. In 401 B.C., Greek mercenaries fighting for Cyrus the Younger marched into the Persian Empire only to find themselves cut off hundreds of miles from home. As a result, they were forced to undertake an arduous and embattled retreat across unknown territories. Xenophon, a Greek historian who accompanied the mercenaries on the march, wrote the epic narrative Anabasis about this experience, and consequently anabasis came to mean a dramatic retreat as well as an advance. 1 : a going or marching up : advance; especially : a military advance2 : a difficult and dangerous military retreat

Accepted Answer

January 23, 2015 uh-NAB-uh-sis Reluctantly, the general ordered a hasty anabasis in the face of overwhelming opposing forces.   "This German and Austro-Hungarian withdrawal from the Balkan Peninsula in the autumn of 1918 would presage a similar German anabasis…." - R. C. Hall, Balkan Breakthrough, 2010

Word	anabasis
Date	January 23, 2015
Type	noun
Syllables	uh-NAB-uh-sis
Etymology	The first sense of anabasis follows logically enough from its roots. In Greek, the word originally meant "inland march"; it is derived from anabainein, meaning "to go up or inland," which is formed by combining the prefix ana- ("up") and bainein ("to go"). The second and opposite sense, however, comes from an anabasis gone wrong. In 401 B.C., Greek mercenaries fighting for Cyrus the Younger marched into the Persian Empire only to find themselves cut off hundreds of miles from home. As a result, they were forced to undertake an arduous and embattled retreat across unknown territories. Xenophon, a Greek historian who accompanied the mercenaries on the march, wrote the epic narrative Anabasis about this experience, and consequently anabasis came to mean a dramatic retreat as well as an advance.
Examples	Reluctantly, the general ordered a hasty anabasis in the face of overwhelming opposing forces. "This German and Austro-Hungarian withdrawal from the Balkan Peninsula in the autumn of 1918 would presage a similar German anabasis…." - R. C. Hall, Balkan Breakthrough, 2010
Definition	1 : a going or marching up : advance; especially : a military advance 2 : a difficult and dangerous military retreat

Anabasis Retreat Greek Mercenaries German Balkan Military January