Dorian

[ dawr-ee-uhn, dohr- ]

/ ˈdɔr i ən, ˈdoʊr- /

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adjective

of or relating to the ancient Greek region of Doris or to the Dorians.

noun

a member of a people who entered Greece about the 12th century b.c., conquered the Peloponnesus, and destroyed the Mycenaean culture: one of the four main divisions of the prehistoric Greeks.Compare Achaean (def. 5), Aeolian² (def. 3), Ionian (def. 3).

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Origin of Dorian

1595–1605; <Latin Dōri(us) (<Greek Dṓrios Dorian) + -an

Words nearby Dorian

Dordrecht, Dore, Doreen, do-re-mi, Dorgon, Dorian, Dorian mode, Doric, Doriden, Doris, dorje

Other definitions for Dorian (2 of 2)

Dorian²

[ dawr-ee-uhn, dohr- ]

/ ˈdɔr i ən, ˈdoʊr- /

noun

a male or female given name.

How to use Dorian in a sentence

'Dorian was like a sponge' The news spread quickly throughout the communities where Hurd and his family had made a mark.
He was a promising college athlete raised ‘old school.’ A random shooting stole his future.|Katie Mettler|March 26, 2021|Washington Post
Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were going down the middle of the block for everyone to see.
Ferguson Police Protect and Serve Themselves With Michael Brown Smear|Michael Daly|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just so with Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, whose identity seems increasingly lost in a cyber thicket that no one can penetrate.
Mysteries Continue to Swirl Around the Identity of Bitcoin’s Creator|Jake Adelstein|March 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
White is “150 pages into” a novel about “a Dorian Grey-ish figure, a male model in Paris in about 1980.”
Edmund White: Sex, Success, and Survival|Tim Teeman|February 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Once Kennex and Dorian are paired, the pilot spends the rest of the time trying to sell us this odd couple as a duo.
‘Almost Human’ Review: A Dystopian Future That We’ve Seen Before|Chancellor Agard|November 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The show also provides several moments for Dorian to prove his usefulness to Kennex.
‘Almost Human’ Review: A Dystopian Future That We’ve Seen Before|Chancellor Agard|November 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The view here taken of the Hypo-dorian evidently agrees with that of Heraclides Ponticus (supra, p. 10).
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro
The exception is the Mixo-lydian, which some ranked immediately below the Dorian, others above the Lydian.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro
In this case, then, the upper of the two octaves answers to the Hypo-dorian key, and the lower to the Locrian.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro
The fact that the Hypo-dorian or Locrian species was also called Common is a further argument to the same purpose.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro
The Hypo-dorian and Hypo-phrygian, which employ the new characters and , are known to be comparatively recent.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro

British Dictionary definitions for Dorian

Dorian

/ (ˈdɔːrɪən) /

noun

a member of a Hellenic people who invaded Greece around 1100 bc, overthrew the Mycenaean civilization, and settled chiefly in the Peloponnese

adjective

of or relating to this people or their dialect of Ancient Greek; Doric

music of or relating to a mode represented by the ascending natural diatonic scale from D to DSee also Hypo-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012