Meanings
comparative more Sherlockian · superlative most Sherlockian
- Of or pertaining to Sherlock Holmes or his investigations, methods, or sayings.
plural Sherlockians
- A Sherlock Holmes scholar or fan; one who studies and/or appreciates the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
William S. Baring-Gould was one of our most knowledgeable Sherlockians and a scholarly, prolific writer.
1967, Julian Wolff, obituary3 more examples
Sherlockians generally praise two screen incarnations of Holmes: One is British actor Jeremy Brett's portrayal of the sleuth in TV series from 1984 to 1994, and the other is by Plummer in the 1979 film "Murder by Decree," which costars James Mason as Watson.
2009 December 25, Tirdad Derakhshani, “The screen has been unfaithful to Holmes”, in Los Angeles TimesBut some Sherlockians have made a sport out of searching for the “real” 221B, parsing clues in the texts with the diligence of Holmes himself.
2011, Joshua Hammer, Sherlock Holmes' London, New Word City, published 2011, →ISBNTo be a “Sherlockian” (in England, a “Holmesian”) is to do more than read Sherlock Holmes with delight; it is to enter a world of trivia questions, films, parodies, interlocking societies, little magazines, T-shirts, nostalgia, and a dedication bordering on mania.
2012, Christopher Redmond, Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition, Dundurn Press, published 2009, →ISBN, page 257
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Translations
French sherlockien, sherlockien
- sherlockienof or pertaining to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes
- sherlockienSherlock Holmes scholar or fan
Japanese シャーロキアン
- シャーロキアンSherlock Holmes scholar or fan
Cite this entry
Sherlockian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sherlockian
“Sherlockian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sherlockian. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sherlockian,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sherlockian.
Source: Sherlockian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.