Gilbertian

[gil-bur-tee-uhn]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the style or humor of Sir William S. Gilbert.

Gilbertian

/ ɡɪlˈbɜːtɪən /

adjective

1. characteristic of or resembling the style or whimsical humour of W. S. Gilbert

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gilbertian¹

First recorded in 1875–80; Gilbert + -ian

Example Sentences

When Jean Louise felt apprehensive, expectant, or on edge, especially when confronting her aunt, her brain clicked to the meter of Gilbertian tomfoolery.

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Of a truth the complete topsy-turveydom of the eternal fitness of things involved by the arrangement struck him as positively Gilbertian.

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The friends laughed together, and the first said, "What a pity the Gilbertian humor has gone out so; you can't adapt it to a daily need any longer without the risk of not being followed."

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He is the young fellow who is something in the City; the everyday young man of the Gilbertian song, with a stick and a pipe and a half-bred black-and-tan.

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But his eyes would surely have glistened at the unconscious and serious anticipation of his own methods at their most Gilbertian, had he ever read pp.

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