Spencerian

[ spen-seer-ee-uhn ]

/ spɛnˈsɪər i ən /

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of Herbert Spencer or his philosophy.

a follower of Herbert Spencer.

QUIZZES

Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.

Question 1 of 7

Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?

First recorded in 1885–90; Spencer² + -ian

Spencerian²

[ spen-seer-ee-uhn ]

/ spɛnˈsɪər i ən /

pertaining to or characteristic of a system of penmanship, characterized by clear, rounded letters slanting to the right.

1875–80; P. R. Spencer² + -ian

I allude, of course, to the establishment of the Spencerian Theory of Morals, which has made a new era in philosophy.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, November 1879|Various
At the tail end of an article it is, of course, impossible to discuss the grounds or results of the Spencerian philosophy.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, November 1879|Various
We had thus two epochs in our school, the Ciceronian and the Spencerian periods.
Revisiting the Earth|James Langdon Hill
Any line of his writing was as neatly molded as Spencerian copy.
Revisiting the Earth|James Langdon Hill

That the Spencerian abstraction should have been taken as a substitute for deity proves how desperate the situation is.
Theism or Atheism|Chapman Cohen