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Virgilian

[ver-jil-ee-uh n, -jil-yuh n]
adjective
  1. Vergilian.
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Related formspre-Vir·gil·i·an, adjectivepseu·do-Vir·gil·i·an, adjective

Vergilian

or Vir·gil·i·an

[ver-jil-ee-uh n, -jil-yuh n]
adjective
  1. pertaining to or characteristic of the poet Vergil.
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Origin of Vergilian

1505–15; < Latin Virgiliānus; see -an
Related formspre-Ver·gil·i·an, adjectivepseu·do-Ver·gil·i·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

classichumanisticacademicatticLatinHellenicDoricGreekromanscholasticIonicGrecianbookishcanonicalAugustanHomericVirgilianbelletristic

Examples from the Web for virgilian

Historical Examples

  • The Virgilian line our orator introduced so felicitously is omitted.

    The Young Duke

    Benjamin Disraeli

  • It must be admitted, however, that the poet's uncouth diction is anything but Virgilian.

  • Either the sonnet or the Virgilian note must be a falsification.

  • Far from blushing at their origin,—these noble Virgilian bees!

    The Insect

    Jules Michelet

  • Dobell's mouth was ever full of very pretty Latinity, for the most part Virgilian.

British Dictionary definitions for virgilian

Vergilian

adjective
  1. a variant spelling of Virgilian
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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 virgilian

adj.

1510s, from Latin Virgilianus "of or characteristic of the Roman poet Virgil" (Publius Vergilius Maro, 70-19 B.C.E.). Also in Virgilian lots (Latin sortes Virgilianae), opening Virgil at random as an oracle.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper