Victorian

How to spell victorian

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce victorian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does victorian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the reign of Queen Victoria, or to the architecture, design, and social attitudes of that period.
2. nounA person who lived during the reign of Queen Victoria.

Victorian in a sentence

• adjective

  They restored the victorian terrace house with its original cornices and fireplaces.

• noun

  The biographer described how the typical victorian valued thrift and respectability.

• adjective

  The museum exhibit explored victorian attitudes towards work, family, and money.

• noun

  As a devout victorian, her great-grandmother kept strict rules about Sunday conduct.

Where does victorian come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built directly on the name of Queen Victoria, who reigned over Britain from 1837 to 1901, and it began to appear in English during her own lifetime, around the middle of the nineteenth century. Her name traces back to the Latin victoria, meaning 'victory', which in turn comes from victor, 'conqueror', and ultimately from the verb vincere, 'to conquer' or 'to overcome'. The same Latin root sits inside everyday words such as 'victory', 'convince', and 'invincible', all of which carry that idea of prevailing or winning. When attached to a personal name, the suffix -ian (from Latin -ianus) simply forms an adjective meaning 'belonging to' or 'characteristic of', so the term came to label the period, the design, and the social attitudes associated with her long reign. The spelling trap is purely in the unstressed ending: the smooth -orian glides past the ear, and writers can easily lose track of the second vowel cluster.

How the word is built

• Victoria (the queen's name, from Latin victoria 'victory')
• -ian (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'relating to')