Athenian

American  

[uh-thee-nee-uhn] / əˈθi ni ən /

adjective

1. pertaining to Athens, Greece.

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noun

1. a native or citizen of Athens, Greece.

Athenian British  

/ əˈθiːnɪən /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Athens

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adjective

1. of or relating to Athens

Other Word Forms

• anti-Athenian adjective
• pro-Athenian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Athenian

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin Athēni(ēnsis) “of Athens” + -an; -ensis

Example Sentences

Eager to shock, he hectored refined Athenians in the market square.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Athenian patrician Thucydides began writing the history of his city’s conflict with Sparta even as the war was beginning.

From The Wall Street Journal

A highborn Athenian named Thucydides recognized at once that a transformative conflict was beginning.

From The Wall Street Journal

One might wonder why the Athenians and the Spartans did not sit down over a nice cup of tea and work out their differences, but they did not.

From Literature

Despite its military prowess, Sparta lacked strategic depth; its king, Archidamus II, therefore urged his countrymen to remonstrate with the Athenians, to buy time while recruiting other distant powers to their side.

From The Wall Street Journal