Venetian

[vuh-nee-shuh n]

adjective

of or relating to Venice or its inhabitants.

pertaining to or designating a style of painting developed in Venice principally during the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized chiefly by rich, often warm colors and the illusion of deep space.

in or in imitation of the style typical of Venice: Venetian architecture.

noun

a native or inhabitant of Venice.

(lowercase) venetian blind.

venetians, a tape or braid for supporting the slats of a venetian blind.

Also called Venetian cloth. Textiles.

a wool or worsted fabric made in satin or twill weave and sometimes napped, used in the manufacture of lightweight coats, suits, skirts, and dresses.
a cotton fabric constructed in satin or twill weave, used chiefly for linings.

Origin of Venetian

1400–50; < Medieval Latin Venetiānus, equivalent to Veneti(a) Venice + Latin -ānus -an; replacing Middle English Venicien < Middle French

Related formsnon-Ve·ne·tian, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for venetian

Contemporary Examples of venetian

The Venetian police force is headquartered in the former convent, Santa Zaccaria, another site that has seen more exciting days.
The Venetian Nuns Who Ditched Their Habits for High Fashion
Liza Foreman
September 14, 2014
As the story goes, many Venetian nuns were noble women forced into the convent to save their families from bankruptcy.
The Venetian Nuns Who Ditched Their Habits for High Fashion
Liza Foreman
September 14, 2014
Page Six says they dined on mussel soup, crayfish and artichoke risotto at a tony Venetian restaurant.
Venice Wedding Bells for George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
June 10, 2014
Some of the fat stacks of $100s were held in place by Venetian casino wrappers.
Sheldon Adelson Pays Out to the U.S. Government
John L. Smith
August 28, 2013
Once upon a time, no self-respecting Venetian altar went without a carpet like these ones.
East Meets West Meets Walls
Blake Gopnik
June 11, 2013

Historical Examples of venetian

Genoese and Venetian traders came with their stores of Eastern goods.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
The Venetian shutters often had to be lowered in the summer to attenuate the great heat.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
He then took from the file one of the Venetian glasses of clouded white.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
The green Venetian blind had fallen, hiding the window, hiding the stranger's face.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
He wrote to the Venetian Senate to announce the cardinal's death on July 20.
The Life of Cesare Borgia
Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for venetian

Venetian

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Venice or its inhabitants

noun

a native or inhabitant of Venice

See Venetian blind

(sometimes not capital) one of the tapes that join the slats of a Venetian blind

a cotton or woollen cloth used for linings

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 venetian

Venetian

early 15c., "native or resident of Venice," from Medieval Latin Venetianus, from Venetia (see Venice). Also probably in part from Old French Venicien. As a kind of dress cloth, from 1710. Venetian blinds so called by 1791.