Alexandrian

English

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /æl.ɛɡˈzæn.dɹiː.ən/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /æ.lɛksˈzæn.dɹi.ən/

Etymology 1

From Alexandria +‎ -n.[1]

Adjective

Alexandrian (comparative more Alexandrian, superlative most Alexandrian)

  1. Of or pertaining to Alexandria in Egypt.
    Synonym: Alexandrine
    the Alexandrian library
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

Alexandrian (plural Alexandrians)

  1. A native or inhabitant of Alexandria.
    Synonym: Alexandrine
  2. A practitioner of Alexandrian Wicca.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Alexander +‎ -ian.[2] The noun and sense 1 of the adjective are a variant or alteration of alexandrine,[3] from Middle French alexandrin.[4]

Adjective

Alexandrian (comparative more Alexandrian, superlative most Alexandrian)

  1. (not comparable) Applied to a kind of heroic verse; synonym of alexandrine.
  2. Of or pertaining to Alexander the Great, or his reign, era etc.
    Synonym: Alexandrine

Noun

Alexandrian (plural Alexandrians)

  1. Synonym of alexandrine.
    • 1735, J[onathan] S[wift], Poems on Several Occasions, Dublin: […] George Faulkner, […], page 32:
      Theſe Triplets and Alexandrians were brought in by Dryden, and other Poets in the Reign of Charles II. They were the mere Effect of Haſte, Idleneſs, and want of Money; and have been wholly avoided by the beſt Poets, ſince theſe Verſes were written.
    • 1909 March, “Two Dramatizations from Virgil: 1. Dido. 2. The Fall of Troy. Arranged and translated into English verse by F. J. Miller. […]”, in The Classical Review, volume XXIII, number CC, page 58, columns 1–2:
      The Fall of Troy is in blank verse, and may pass muster; but the Dido is in Alexandrians, a most monotonous measure, quite unsuited to a long piece in English.
    • 2009, Tonny Aagaard Olesen, “Johan Herman Wessel: Kierkegaard’s Use of Wessel, or The Crazier the Better”, in Jon Stewart, editor, Kierkegaard and the Renaissance and Modern Traditions (Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources; 5), tome III (Literature, Drama and Music), Routledge, published 2016, →ISBN:
      It follows the pompous versification (the elegant, rhyming Alexandrians), the proverb-like diction, the courteous form of address, and the antithetical reasoning in the portrayal of the struggle in the soul of the hero.
    • 2016, Mary Braaten, Shakespeare: Helping an Actor Prepare, Pittsburgh, Pa.: Dorrance Publishing Co, →ISBN, page 59:
      Usually the Alexandrian breaks into two phrases of three iambic feet each.

Etymology 3

From Alexandra +‎ -ian.[5]

Adjective

Alexandrian (comparative more Alexandrian, superlative most Alexandrian)

  1. Only used in Alexandrian limp.

References
  1. “Alexandrian, n.1 and adj.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠‎, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 2023-10-20.
  2. “Alexandrian, adj.3”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠‎, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 2023-10-20.
  3. “Alexandrian, adj.2 and n.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠‎, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 2023-10-20.
  4. “alexandrine, adj.2 and n.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠‎, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 2023-10-20.
  5. “Alexandrian, adj.4”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠‎, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 2023-10-20.

Anagrams
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