Patrician
[pə'trɪʃ(ə)n] or [pə'trɪʃən]
Definition
(noun.) a person of refined upbringing and manners.
(adj.) befitting a person of noble origin; 'a patrician nose' .
Edited by Laurence--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Of or pertaining to the Roman patres (fathers) or senators, or patricians.
(a.) Of, pertaining to, or appropriate to, a person of high birth; noble; not plebeian.
(n.) Originally, a member of any of the families constituting the populus Romanus, or body of Roman citizens, before the development of the plebeian order; later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege conferred, belonged to the nobility.
(n.) A person of high birth; a nobleman.
(n.) One familiar with the works of the Christian Fathers; one versed in patristic lore.
Edited by Henry
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Nobleman (of ancient Rome).
a. Noble, senatorial, aristocratic, high-born, not plebeian, well-born.
Typed by Anatole
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Noble, senator, aristocratic
ANT:Plebeian, churl
Edited by Julia
Definition
n. a nobleman in ancient Rome being a descendant of one of the fathers or first Roman senators: a nobleman.—adj. pertaining to the ancient senators of Rome or to their descendants: of noble birth.—n. Patric′iate the position or duties of a patrician: the patrician order.
Checked by Alissa
Examples
- Even for that purpose their votes did not have the same value as those of their patrician fellow citizens. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Sir Leicester receives the gout as a troublesome demon, but still a demon of the patrician order. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Were the pride of ancestry, the patrician spirit, the gentle courtesies and refined pursuits, splendid attributes of rank, to be erased among us? Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- I think it is much better to be really patrician, and to do nothing but just be oneself, like a walking flower. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Although he was of an old patrician family, he came into politics as the brilliant darling of the people. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- They were victorious at last and divided their conquests equably among their great patrician families. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The most opulent of them owned those splendid patrician houses which we still admire even to-day. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The form assumed by the government of Holland was a patrician republic under the headship of the house of Orange. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- So there grew up in England a representative assembly, the Commons, beside an episcopal and patrician one, the Lords. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- You sympathize with that proud patrician who does not sympathize with his famished fellow-men, and insults them. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- The administration was evidently primarily a patrician affair. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- His attempt, however, serves to show how far the Senate had progressed from its original condition as a purely patrician body. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- This was in the old days when the Patricians alone governed Venice--the common herd had no vote and no voice. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- This community followed the usual tradition of a division into aristocratic and common citizens, who were called in Rome patricians and plebeians. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Many patricians were growing poor and irritated and unscrupulous. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The plebeians were ousted from any share in the conquered lands, which the patricians divided up among themselves. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- And finally (3) there were patricians big-minded and far-seeing enough to insist upon the need of reconciliation with the plebeians. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Trade was coming to Rome with increasing political power, and many plebeians were growing rich and many patricians becoming relatively poor. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It was a nominated one, and in the earlier period it was nominated solely from among the patricians. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The mass of the details of this struggle between patricians and plebeians we can afford to ignore in this outline. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- For a long time the Roman patricians were clever enough to beat every such potential tyrant by giving in to a certain extent to the plebeians. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It abated because, among other influences, the social differences between patricians and plebeians were diminishing. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Typist: Maura