Ruritania
Americannoun
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a mythical, romantic kingdom conceived as the setting for a fairy tale, costume drama, comic operetta, or the like.
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Facetious. any small, little-known country or region considered remote, backward, or exotic.
noun
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an imaginary kingdom of central Europe: setting of several novels by English novelist Anthony Hope (1863–1933), esp The Prisoner of Zenda (1894)
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any setting of adventure, romance, and intrigue
Other Word Forms
- Ruritanian adjective
Etymology
Origin of Ruritania
After the fictional Central European kingdom in the novel The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) by A. Hope
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Court followers foil a royal plot by having a look-alike English tourist pose as the king of Ruritania.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2019
Court followers foil a plot by having a British look-alike pose as the king of Ruritania.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2019
Suppose, notionally, that you're Prince Boris Buzzoffsky of Ruritania and your last wife but three has posted a letter in the Hentzau Gazette accusing you of cheating at dominoes.
From The Guardian • Aug. 11, 2012
We are citizens of the world's first satirical Ruritania.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ruritania will have got its money less the cost of underwriting, advertising, commissions, 1 per cent. stamp payable to the British Government, and the profit of the issuing firm.
From International Finance by Withers, Hartley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
