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Shavian

[shey-vee-uh n]
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of George Bernard Shaw or his works: Shavian humor.
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noun
  1. a specialist in the study of the works of George Bernard Shaw.
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Origin of Shavian

1905–10; Shav- (Latinization of Shaw) + -ian
Related formsSha·vi·an·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shavian

Historical Examples

  • An Irishman may like romance, but he will say, to use a frequent Shavian phrase, that it is "only romance."

    George Bernard Shaw

    Gilbert K. Chesterton

  • I shouldn't wonder if they was something in the talk of this man Shaw or Shavian—I see the name spelled both ways in the papers.

    Somewhere in Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • He converses with Don Juan and a couple of other blas mortals, uttering Shavian iconoclasms with an air of courteous boredom.

  • The Shavian devil in contradistinction to the Baudelairian fiend does bitterly complain that he is so little appreciated on earth.

  • It is now partly possible to justify the Shavian method of putting the explanations before the events.

    George Bernard Shaw

    Gilbert K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for shavian

Shavian

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or like George Bernard Shaw, his works, ideas, etc
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noun
  1. an admirer of Shaw or his works
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Derived FormsShavianism, noun
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 shavian

Shavian

adj.

1903, "in the style or manner of George Bernard Shaw" (1856-1950), from Latinized form of his name. An earlier form was Shawian (1894).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper