ionic

¹ American  

[ahy-on-ik] / aɪˈɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to ions.

2. pertaining to or occurring in the form of ions.

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Ionic ² American  

[ahy-on-ik] / aɪˈɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. Architecture. noting or pertaining to one of the five classical orders that in ancient Greece consisted of a fluted column with a molded base and a capital composed of four volutes, usually parallel to the architrave with a pulvinus connecting a pair on each side of the column, and an entablature typically consisting of an architrave of three fascias, a richly ornamented frieze, and a cornice corbeled out on egg-and-dart and dentil moldings, with the frieze sometimes omitted. Roman and Renaissance examples are often more elaborate, and usually set the volutes of the capitals at 45° to the architrave.

2. Prosody. noting or employing a foot consisting either of two long followed by two short syllables greater Ionic, or of two short followed by two long syllables lesser Ionic.

3. noting or pertaining to that variety of the eastern branch of the early Greek alphabet that was used for the writing of the Ionic dialect and that became the variety used for all dialects of Greek from the 4th century b.c. to the present.

4. of or relating to Ionia or the Ionians.

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noun

1. Prosody. an Ionic foot, verse, or meter.

2. the dialect of ancient Greek spoken in Euboea, the Cyclades, and on the mainland of Asia Minor at Miletus and elsewhere.

3. Trademark. a style of printing type.

Ionic ¹ British  

/ aɪˈɒnɪk /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or relating to one of the five classical orders of architecture, characterized by fluted columns and capitals with scroll-like ornaments See also Doric composite Tuscan Corinthian

2. of or relating to Ionia, its inhabitants, or their dialect of Ancient Greek

3. prosody of, relating to, designating, or employing Ionics in verse

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noun

1. one of four chief dialects of Ancient Greek; the dialect spoken in Ionia Compare Aeolic Arcadic Doric See also Attic

2. (in classical prosody) a type of metrical foot having either two long followed by two short syllables ( greater Ionic ), or two short followed by two long syllables ( lesser Ionic )

ionic ² British  

/ aɪˈɒnɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or occurring in the form of ions

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Ionic Cultural  

1. One of the three main styles of Greek architecture (the others are Corinthian and Doric). The Ionic column is slender and finely fluted; its capital is in the shape of a scroll.

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Other Word Forms

• non-Ionic adjective

Etymology

Origin of ionic¹

First recorded in 1885–90; ion + -ic

Origin of Ionic¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin Iōnicus, from Greek Iōnikós “of Ionia ”; -ic

Example Sentences

The researchers synthesized 17 carefully designed ruthenium complexes and studied how small changes in molecular shape and the surrounding ionic environment influence electron behavior.

From Science Daily

At the same time, these events unfold within constantly changing physical conditions such as voltage fields, chemical gradients, ionic diffusion, and time-varying conductances.

From Science Daily

According to Helled, "Our models have so-called "ionic water" layers which generate magnetic dynamos in locations that explain the observed non-dipolar magnetic fields. We also found that Uranus' magnetic field originates deeper than Neptune's."

From Science Daily

Future work will explore other ionic materials that can achieve similar effects.

From Science Daily

The absorption of the X-rays caused molecular bonds to break, creating ionic fragments that could be analysed.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• classic
• humanistic