Ciceronian

English

Etymology

From the Latin Cicerōniānus.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sɪsəˈɹəʊnɪən/
• Rhymes: -əʊniən

Adjective

Ciceronian (comparative more Ciceronian, superlative most Ciceronian)

1. Of or relating to Marcus Tullius Cicero, or the ideas in his philosophical treatises.
2. (rhetoric) Eloquent, resembling Cicero’s style.
   • 1885, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, “Of the Reply Don Quixote Gave His Censurer, with Other Incidents, Grave and Droll”, in John Ormsby, transl., The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha […] In Four Vols, volume III, London: Smith, Elder & Co. […], →OCLC, part II, pages 354–355:

     'But why should I attempt to depict and describe in detail, and feature by feature, the beauty of the peerless Dulcinea, the burden being one worthy of other shoulders than mine, an enterprise wherein the pencils of Parrhasius, Timantes, and Apelles, and the graver of Lysippus ought to be employed, to paint it in pictures and carve it in marble and bronze, and Ciceronian and Demosthenian eloquence to sound its praises?' / 'What does Demosthenian mean, Senor Don Quixote?' said the duchess; 'it is a word I never heard in all my life.' / 'Demosthenian eloquence,' said Don Quixote, 'means the eloquence of Demosthenes, as Ciceronian means that of Cicero, who were the two most eloquent orators in the world.'

3. (rhetoric) With effusive use of antithesis and long sentences.

Derived terms

• Ciceronianism
• Ciceronianist
• Ciceronianize

Related terms

• ciceronage
• cicerone
• ciceroneship
• Ciceronic
• Ciceronical
• Ciceronically
• ciceronism
• ciceronize

 

Translations

of or relating to M. Tullius Cicero

• French: cicéronien (fr)
• Italian: ciceroniano (it)
• Latin: Cicerōniānus
• Occitan: cicerounenc
• Spanish: ciceroniano

rhetoric: eloquent, resembling Cicero’s style

rhetoric: with effusive use of antithesis and long sentences

Noun

Ciceronian (plural Ciceronians)

1. One who adopts or favours Cicero's literary style.
   • 1758, The Critical Review, or Annals of Literature, volume 6, page 275:

     One thing is observable in all the professed Ciceronians, namely, the using a multitude of words to express their meaning. This they learned from their master, since it cannot be denied that Cicero is rather verbose.

   • 1910, Izora Scott, Controversies Over the Imitation of Cicero in the Renaissance:

     The fact that he scoffed at their so-called purity of style, declaring that any reputable Latin was standard and that matter was more important than form, brought him into conflict with the sect of Ciceronians.

Anagrams

• acronicine