Bohemian
- of or relating to Bohemia, its people, or their language.
- (usually lowercase) pertaining to or characteristic of the unconventional life of a bohemian.
- living a wandering or vagabond life, as a Gypsy.
Origin of Bohemian
Related Words
strangenessviolationdissentunrulinessdisaffectionnegationdenialobjectioninsubordinationdisapprovaloriginalityuniquenessheresylawlessnessdisobediencevetodisagreementdiscordanceoppositionbreachExamples from the Web for bohemianism
Historical Examples
"I declare, our Bohemianism progresses famously," said she, half tartly.
The Bramleighs Of Bishop's FollyCharles James Lever
It is bohemianism in the domestic circle, a life full of improvidence and surprises.
Artists' WivesAlphonse Daudet
There was certainly a tinge of Bohemianism in Audrey's nature.
Lover or FriendRosa Nouchette Carey
Poverty in your life is a drag that my Bohemianism can throw off.
Paths of JudgementAnne Douglas Sedgwick
But the bohemianism of her husband and his comrades could only turn her to ice.
The RescueAnne Douglas Sedgwick
Bohemianism
- unconventional behaviour or appearance, esp of an artist
Bohemian
- a native or inhabitant of Bohemia, esp of the old kingdom of Bohemia; a Czech
- (often not capital) a person, esp an artist or writer, who lives an unconventional life
- the Czech language
- of, relating to, or characteristic of Bohemia, its people, or their language
- unconventional in appearance, behaviour, etc
Word Origin and History for bohemianism
bohemian
n.
"a gypsy of society," 1848, from French bohemién (1550s), from the country name (see Bohemia). The modern sense is perhaps from the use of this country name since 15c. in French for "gypsy" (they were wrongly believed to have come from there, though their first appearance in Western Europe may have been directly from there), or from association with 15c. Bohemian heretics. It was popularized by Henri Murger's 1845 story collection "Scenes de la Vie de Boheme," the basis of Puccini's "La Bohème." Used in English 1848 in Thackary's "Vanity Fair."
The term 'Bohemian' has come to be very commonly accepted in our day as the description of a certain kind of literary gipsey, no matter in what language he speaks, or what city he inhabits .... A Bohemian is simply an artist or littérateur who, consciously or unconsciously, secedes from conventionality in life and in art. ["Westminster Review," 1862]
bohemian
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.