Bohemian

[boh-hee-mee-uhn]

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Bohemia.

2. Usually bohemian a person, as an artist or writer, who lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules and practices.

3. the Czech language, especially as spoken in Bohemia.

4. a Romani.

adjective

1. of or relating to Bohemia, its people, or their language.

2. Usually bohemian pertaining to or characteristic of the unconventional life of a bohemian.

3. living a wandering or vagabond life.

Bohemian

/ bəʊˈhiːmɪən /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Bohemia, esp of the old kingdom of Bohemia; a Czech

2. (often not capital) a person, esp an artist or writer, who lives an unconventional life

3. the Czech language

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Bohemia, its people, or their language

2. unconventional in appearance, behaviour, etc

bohemian

1. A descriptive term for a stereotypical way of life for artists and intellectuals. According to the stereotype (see also stereotype), bohemians live in material poverty because they prefer their art or their learning to lesser goods; they are also unconventional in habits and dress, and sometimes in morals.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Bohemian adjective
• Bohemianism noun
• pro-Bohemian adjective
• pseudo-Bohemian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bohemian¹

First recorded in 1570–80; Bohemi(a) + -an

Example Sentences

In 1970, Mercury formed Queen with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, going on to write many of the band's defining hits, including Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are the Champions and Don't Stop Me Now.

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Bohemians said in a statement they were "proud" to have advanced the motion and expressed gratitude to those delegates who had voted in favour.

Read more on Barron's

NEW YORK—The capacious Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden in Astoria, Queens, had been swelling for hours with chanting—and drinking—young socialists.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They had found their sweet spot: spiky power pop buffed into a commercial sheen by Roy Thomas Baker, the producer famous for his skillful work on Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"I had no idea… but it was Bohemian Rhapsody," he told BBC Radio Wales.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• free spirit 
• hippie 
• nonconformist