Wiktionary

Victorian

See also: victorian

English

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WOTD – 20 June 2022

Pronunciation

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Queen Victoria photographed by Alexander Bassano in 1882.

Etymology 1

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From Victoria +‎ -an (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns),[1] from the name of Queen Victoria (1819–1901), monarch of the United Kingdom.

Adjective

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Victorian (comparative more Victorian, superlative most Victorian)

  1. Of or relating to the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, or that period.
    • 2012, Andrew Martin, “Deeper”, in Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, London: Profile Books, →ISBN, page 93:
      From the platforms at Wapping or Rotherhithe you can see the tunnel fleetingly illuminated as the trains approach; it looks so incredibly Victorian that you expect to see Jack the Ripper loitering between the arches.
    • 2014 June 14, “It’s a gas: It is possible to sniff out problems in sewer pipes before they happen”, in The Economist‎[1], volume 411, number 8891, London: Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 October 2021:
      One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city's effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.
  2. Of or relating to the culture or social conditions of that period.
    1. In a situation of poverty and social injustice; Dickensian.
      • 2015 April 5, Press Association, “Children living in Victorian conditions, say teachers”, in The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 May 2021:
        In some cases, teachers reported being aware of pupils living in "Victorian conditions", of youngsters coming to school with no socks or coat and of more families depending on food banks.
      • 2022 January 12, Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in Rail, number 948, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25:
        I'm not proposing a return to Victorian working conditions, or anything like that, but there are two areas where things need changing.
    2. (architecture) Of the style of architecture or furnishings of that period.
      • 1941, J[ames] H[erbert] Blackford, The Manor and Village of Cherhill, a Wiltshire Village from Early Times to the Present Day, Frome, Somerset, London: […] Butler & Tanner, →OCLC, page 188:
        Unhappily, however, all that remains of Cherhill's claim to an old manor house is a rather cold ungabled building, blue-slated in hard ruled lines, and a porch which might have been transplanted from a late Victorian house.
  3. (figuratively) Of or displaying the (supposed) ideals or standards of morality of that period; conservative; also, old-fashioned, out-of-date.
    • 1948, [George] Bernard Shaw, “Farfetched Fables. Preface.”, in Buoyant Billions; Farfetched Fables; Shakes versus Shav, London: Constable, published 1950, →OCLC, page 72:
      The Labor Church did not last; but the reaction did; and the last I heard of its founder was that he was helping the movement against Victorian prudery in a very practical way as a Nudist photographer, […]
    • 2015 July 28, Michael Barone, “Is America Entering a New Victorian Era?”, in National Review‎[3], New York, N.Y.: National Review, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 October 2020:
      Even the legalization and vastly increased approval of same-sex marriage has a Victorian aspect. The early same-sex marriage advocates Andrew Sullivan and Jonathan Rauch argued that marriage would domesticate homosexuals.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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Victorian (plural Victorians)

 
The 19th-century Farnam Mansion in Oneida, New York, U.S.A., is a Victorian (etymology 1, noun sense 3).
  1. A person born in or living in the Victorian period, or exhibiting characteristics of that period.
    • 2008 May 29 – June 4, Aimee Levitt, “St. Louis’ etiquette masters tell us how to mind our manners”, in Riverfront Times‎[4], St. Louis, Mo.: Euclid Media Group, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2 June 2022, page 20:
      It was not until the late 1800s when older members of New York society, aghast at the invasion of vulgar "new money," devised a daunting system of social rules – not to mention silverware – meant to repel anyone of humble origins who dared to sit down at one of their twelve-course dinners. It was the Victorians who gave us such useful implements as the strawberry knife.
    • 2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: The Nation’s Finest Stations: Grange-over-Sands”, in Rail, number 948, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 27:
      The arrival of the railway turned this isolated fishing village into a popular seaside destination for Victorians who came to breathe fresh sea air, clear their lungs or take the waters.
  2. An item of furniture from that period.
  3. (chiefly US, architecture) A house built in the Victorian architectural style.
    • 1987, Faren Maree Bachelis, “Downtown Sacramento”, in The Pelican Guide to Sacramento and the Gold Country (A Firebird Press Book), Gretna, New Orleans, La.: Pelican Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 86:
      The commercial resurgence brought about by the area's changing tastes is reflected in midtown's conglomeration of refurbished Victorians, apartments, specialty shops, offices, corner groceries, restaurants, single-family homes, and bed and breakfast inns.
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Etymology 2

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Dick-a-Dick (traditional name Lavanya, Jumgumjenanuke or Jungunjinuke; c. 1834 – 1870), an Australian Aboriginal tracker and cricketer, was a Victorian (etymology 2, noun sense) from the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. He was a member of the first Australian cricket team to tour England in 1868.

From Victoria (“state of Australia in the southeastern part of the continent”) +‎ -an (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns);[2] the state was named after Queen Victoria when it was established in 1851.

Adjective

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Victorian (not comparable)

  1. Of, or native or relating to, the state of Victoria in Australia.
    Up to 26 properties are believed lost in Victorian bushfires.
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Noun

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Victorian (plural Victorians)

  1. A person from the state of Victoria in Australia.
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Etymology 3

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From Victoria (“capital of British Columbia, Canada”) +‎ -an (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns); incorporated as a city in 1862, the settlement which preceded the city was named Fort Victoria after Queen Victoria in 1843.

Adjective

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Victorian (not comparable)

  1. (Canada) Of, or native or relating to, the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada.
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Noun

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Victorian (plural Victorians)

  1. (Canada) A person from the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada.
Translations
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References

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  1. ^ “Victorian, adj.2 and n.1”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2021; “Victoria1, adj. and n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “Victorian, adj.3 and n.2”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2021; “Victoria2, adj. and n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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Finnish

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Proper noun

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Victorian

  1. genitive singular of Victoria
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