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Messalina

[mes-uh-lahy-nuh]
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noun
  1. Valeria,died a.d. 48, third wife of Claudius I.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for messalina

Historical Examples

  • Its277 history is connected with one of the worst crimes of Messalina.

    Pagan and Christian Rome

    Rodolfo Lanciani

  • Chapuys calls Anne a Messalina, but he of course was not an impartial witness.

    Henry VIII.

    A. F. Pollard

  • One might have been a tragedy, "Messalina," but there were no other dramatic works.

  • Arthur Dillon could not have been more considerate of Messalina.

    The Art of Disappearing

    John Talbot Smith

  • Messalina has her divorce from Horace Endicott, and is married to her lover.

    The Art of Disappearing

    John Talbot Smith

British Dictionary definitions for messalina

Messalina

noun
  1. Valeria (vəˈlɪərɪə). died 48 ad, wife of the Roman emperor Claudius, notorious for her debauchery and cruelty
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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

Word Origin and History for messalina

Messalina

"scheming and licentious woman," 1887, in reference to Valeria Messalina, notorious third wife of Roman emperor Claudius.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper