Timonian

English

Etymology 1

From Timon +‎ -ian, from the 5th-century BC person Timon of Athens (as described by Plutarch, Lucian, Aristophanes), possibly by way of William Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens (c. 1607). Used by poet John Langhorne in his translation of Plutarch's Lives (1777).

Adjective

Timonian (comparative more Timonian, superlative most Timonian)

1. Of a form of bitter misanthropy relating to Timonism, like Timon of Athens.
   • 1983, M. R. Stopper, in Phronesis:

     [About Timon's account of Pyrrho's views.] The second Timonian passage is usually taken to come from his prose work, Python.

   • 2001, Jonathan Barnes, in Mind:

     Aristocles is not citing Timon—and how near he keeps to any Timonian text we cannot judge.

Quotations

• 1770, John Langhorne with William Langhorne, Parallel Lives, E. and C. Dilly, translation of original by Plutarch, page 457:

  None of these things, however, disturbed him; for, at once abandoning his hopes and his cares, he left his Timonian retreat, and returned to Alexandria;

• 1939 June 13, “Dr. Ezra Pound”, in The New York Times‎^[1], page 22:

  Yesterday Hamilton College doctored Ezra Loomis Pound, the Idaho lad who was graduated from it in 1905. In his habitual Timonian mood he has, time and time again, taken the hide off American professors.

• 1962, Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire: A Novel, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, Index (written by the author, part of the narrative) (Repr. Vintage Books, 1989, →ISBN.), page 308:

  Kinbote, Charles, Dr., [...]; his modesty, 34; his having no library in his Timonian cave, 39; his belief in his having inspired S, 42;

• 2002, Lawrence I. Berkove, A Prescription for Adversity: The Moral Art of Ambrose Bierce, Ohio State University Press, →ISBN, →OL, Introduction, page xiv:

  Like Swift, whom he admired and imitated and with whom he had much in common, Bierce was a man who hated boldly and well and yet was not a Timonian misanthrope.

• For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Timonian.

Synonyms

• Timonean
• Timonist

Related terms

• Timonism
• Timonize

Translations

Of a form of bitter misanthropy

• French: timonien

Etymology 2

From Timon +‎ -an, from a 3rd-century BC disciple of Pyrrho, Skeptic philosopher and satirist Timon of Phlius (c. 320 – c. 230 BC).

Adjective

Timonian (comparative more Timonian, superlative most Timonian)

1. Of or relating to Skeptic philosopher Timon of Phlius, his life, works, style, or ideas.

Synonyms

• Timonean (less common)

Translations

of or relating to Timon of Phlius

• French: timonien

Etymology 3

From the name of French priest Joseph-Marie Timon-David (1823-1891) and the Sacred Heart congregation he founded in 1864.

Adjective

Timonian (comparative more Timonian, superlative most Timonian)

1. Of or relating to the French Catholic Sacred Heart congregation founded by Joseph-Marie Timon-David.

Translations

Of or relating to the congregation of Timon-David

• French: timonien

Noun

Timonian (plural Timonians)

1. A member of the French Catholic Sacred Heart congregation founded by Joseph-Marie Timon-David.

Translations

Member of the congregation of Timon-David

• French: Timonien

Further reading

• OED, "Timon [feat. Timonian, Timonism, Timonist, Timonize]" in the Oxford English Dictionary (reproduced in a post)
• WPFR, "Timonien" in Wikipedia in French
• WPFR, "Joseph-Marie Timon-David" in Wikipedia in French