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Pliny

[ plin-ee ]
/ ˈplɪn i /

noun

the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus, a.d. 23–79, Roman naturalist, encyclopedist, and writer.
his nephew (“the Younger,” Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus) a.d. 62?–c113, Roman writer, statesman, and orator.

OTHER WORDS FROM Pliny

Plin·i·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for plinian

  • It would be impossible in any case for me to attempt a Plinian panegyric, or a French éloge.

    The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. II (2 vols)|Thomas De Quincey

  • Fast-moving deadly pyroclastic flows (“nuées ardentes”) are also commonly associated with plinian eruptions.

    Volcanoes|Robert I. Tilling

  • Read two papers before the Plinian Society of Edinburgh "at the close of 1826 or early in 1827."

    More Letters of Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin

  • The most powerful eruptions are called “plinian” and involve the explosive ejection of relatively viscous lava.

    Volcanoes|Robert I. Tilling

British Dictionary definitions for plinian (1 of 2)

Plinian
/ (ˈplɪnɪən) /

adjective

geology (of a volcanic eruption) characterized by repeated explosions

Word Origin for Plinian

C20: named after Pliny the Younger, who described such eruptions

British Dictionary definitions for plinian (2 of 2)

Pliny
/ (ˈplɪnɪ) /

noun

known as Pliny the Elder. Latin name Gaius Plinius Secundus. 23–79 ad, Roman writer, the author of the encyclopedic Natural History (77)
his nephew, known as Pliny the Younger. Latin name Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus. ?62–?113 ad, Roman writer and administrator, noted for his letters
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