Candian

C3A1N1D2I1A1N1
/ˈkændɪən/

adjective

Of or relating to Crete or its inhabitants.

UncommonScrabble 10

Meanings

Candian1

adjectiveCandian (not comparable)
  1. historicalnot comparableOf or relating to Crete or its inhabitants.

    Noble as he, and deck’d too with the plume Of brave adventure in the Candian war; Younger, and not less comely.

    1787, Robert Jephson, Julia: or, the Italian Lover, London: Charles Dilly, act I, scene 7, page 18
    1 more example

    In ſafety landed on the Candian Shore, / With generous Wines their Spirits they reſtore; / There Cymon with his Rhodian Friend reſides, / Both Court, and Wed at once the willing Brides.

    1700, [John] Dryden, “Cymon and Iphigenia, from Boccace”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 564
  2. historicalnot comparableOf or relating to the Cretan city of Heraklion or its inhabitants.
    1 more example

    There is a good road, and it is possible to walk if desired, although it is about as hot and uninteresting a walk as can well be imagined. It is easier and better to ride, although the Cretan drivers in general, and the Candian ones in particular, enjoy the reputation of being about the most rapacious in the civilized world.

    1907, Philip Sanford Marden, chapter 2, in Greece and the Ægean Islands, London: Archibald Constable & Co., page 29
nounCandian (plural Candians)

plural Candians

  1. historicalAn inhabitant of Crete.

    1581, John Alday (translator), Theatrum Mundi, The Theatre or rule of the world by Pierre Boaistuau, London: John Wyght, “To the Reader,” Let them consider howe Epiminedes the Greeke spake unto the Candians, calling them cruell and abhominable beastes, braynelesse lyars.

    1 more example

    This is the very image of the dance which the Candians dance at this day.

    1770, Giovanni Gallini, “Comparison of the Dances of the Modern Greeks with those of the Ancient”, in Critical Observations on the Art of Dancing, London, page 98
  2. historicalAn inhabitant of the Cretan city of Heraklion.

Candian2

adjectiveCandian (not comparable)
  1. historicalnot comparableOf or relating to the Kingdom of Kandy on the island now known as Sri Lanka.
    1 more example

    1810, Arthur Johnston, Narrative of the Operations of a Detachment in an expedition to Candy, in the Island of Ceylon, in the Year 1804, London: C. & R. Baldwin, p. 126, The difficulty of procuring good guides is very great. There are, it is true, always men ready to undertake for hire the task of conducting our troops through the Candian country.

nounCandian (plural Candians)

plural Candians

  1. historicalAn inhabitant of the Kingdom of Kandy on the island now known as Sri Lanka.
    1 more example

    1700, S. L. (translator), A Relation of Two Several Voyages Made into the East-Indies by Christopher Fryke and Christopher Schewitzer, London: D. Brown et al., “Mr. Schewitzer’s Voyage,” Chapter 7, p. 321, We retired towards Sittawack, and passed by a steep Rock; whence it is reported, That the late King of Sittawack’s Wife and Daughter flung themselves down headlong, having received the News that he had lost the Battle against the King of Candi. The Candians all the while came after us, but were not able to do us any great harm, because the ways were so narrow that they could not come up to us.

Origin

Candian · adjective, noun

From Candy + -an or Candia + -an.

Full word history & related roots →

Candian · adjective, noun

From Candy + -an.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Candian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Candian

MLA

“Candian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Candian. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Candian,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Candian.

Source: Candian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.