Grecian

alternative Græcian · alternative Graecian · alternative Greecian

1. not comparableobsoletepoeticGreek (of or from Greece or the Greek people, especially those of Ancient Greece).

   He was a young man with a scornful mouth and the bright blue eyes of a healthy baby set in a dark sensitive face. His hair was pitch black, damp and curly—the hair of a Grecian statue gone brunette.

   1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Offshore Pirate”, in Flappers and Philosophers, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 11

   2 more examples

   Olympic Games. — Besides the ordinary confederacies that join independent states together, a singular federal bond is remarkable in the Olympic games, which for many ages cemented the Grecian commonwealths by a joint tie of recreation and religious ritual.

   1840, John Dunlop, The Universal Tendency to Association in Mankind. Analyzed and Illustrated, London: Houlston and Stoneman, page 103

   Chlorine blue, bordered in forest green and looking out onto a Grecian gazebo, the pool was composed of hundreds of ceramic kitchen tiles, like a Minecraft version of C.Z. Guest’s once-upon-a-time world.

   2016 September 13, Vanessa Friedman, “New York Fashion Week Comes to Life With Thom Browne and Proenza Schouler”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Aug 2020

   Synonyms: Hellenic

plural Grecians · alternative Græcian · alternative Graecian · alternative Greecian

1. obsoleteA native or inhabitant of Greece.
2. A senior pupil at Christ's Hospital School in West Sussex, England.
3. obsoleteA Jew who spoke Greek; a Hellenist.
4. obsoleteOne well versed in the Greek language; a scholar of Greek.

   I spoke of Mr. Harris, of Salisbury, as being a very learned man, and in particular an eminent Grecian.

   1791, James Boswell, “(please specify the year)”, in James Boswell, editor, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC

   1 more example

   […] and I will so exhibit its very words as that the reader, even if no Grecian, may understand the point in litigation.

   1847, Thomas De Quincey, “Protestantism”, in Theological Essays and Other Papers, volume 1

5. obsoleteslangAn Irish labourer newly arrived on the British mainland.