Pyrrhus of Epirus was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period of Greece who rose to king at the age of 13.  He was deposed but managed to take back his throne.

Pyrrhus was a very active military commander who fought and won numerous battles against Carthage, Sparta and early Rome.

The Battle of Asculum was where the term Pyrrhic Victory was coined. In the savage battle with the Romans, while winning Pyrrhus's Greeks were bled white. After the battle, Pyrrhus was quoted, "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined".

jamessavik you are my kind of guy.  You obviously love cats and history.  You saved me the time to research the origin of the word. 

Pyrrhic sounds like a medical term eg. You have a pyrrhic cyst on your buttocks.  

Thought you might like a picture depicting the original pyrrhic victory:

Source is from History.com

https://www.history.com/news/5-famous-pyrrhic-victories

I found this excellent word in a book I read over the summer.  I was delighted to see it here as well.