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Xenophon

American  
[zen-uh-fuhn, -fon] / ˈzɛn ə fən, -ˌfɒn /

noun

  1. 434?–355? b.c., Greek historian and essayist.


Xenophon British  
/ ˈzɛnəfən /

noun

  1. 431–?355 bc , Greek general and historian; a disciple of Socrates. He accompanied Cyrus the Younger against Artaxerxes II and, after Cyrus' death at Cunaxa (401), he led his army of 10 000 Greek soldiers to the Black Sea, an expedition described in his Anabasis. His other works include Hellenica, a history of Greece, and the Memorabilia, Apology, and Symposium, which contain recollections of Socrates

"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

Other Word Forms

  • Xenophontian adjective
  • Xenophontine adjective

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.

Another contemporary of Socrates, the historian Xenophon, wrote an account of Socrates’s trial and death in his Memorabilia.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

Nick Xenophon, an independent senator at the time, complained that the plan was being “systematically undermined”.

From Economist • May 17, 2018

“This has been a needless point of division in the community for more than 18 months now,” Nick Xenophon, a former senator who used to represent the state of South Australia, said in a statement.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2018

Independent senator Nick Xenophon, who supports the reforms, showed up to one vote wearing pyjamas covered with pictures of monkeys and bananas.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2016

But this, as well as a batch of recent editions of Greek plays and Greek authors, such as Xenophon, Lucian, &c., must be postponed until another time.

From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879 by Various