Elizabethan

[ ih-liz-uh-bee-thuhn, -beth-uhn ]

adjective
  1. of or relating to the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England, or to her times: Elizabethan diplomacy; Elizabethan music.

  2. noting or pertaining to an English Renaissance style of architecture of the reign of Elizabeth I characterized by fantastic sculptured or molded ornament of German or Flemish origin, symmetrical layouts, and an emphasis on domestic architecture.: Compare Jacobean (def. 2).

noun
  1. an English person who lived during the Elizabethan period, especially a poet or dramatist.

Origin of Elizabethan

1
First recorded in 1810–20; Elizabeth + -an

Other words from Elizabethan

  • an·ti-E·liz·a·be·than, adjective, noun
  • half-E·liz·a·be·than, adjective
  • post-E·liz·a·be·than, adjective, noun
  • pro-E·liz·a·be·than, adjective, noun
  • pseu·do-E·liz·a·be·than, adjective, noun

Words Nearby Elizabethan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Elizabethan in a sentence

  • In the Elizabethan Age men had thrown caution to the winds and lived with their whole bodies, not just with their minds alone.

    The Man from Time | Frank Belknap Long
  • It is in the Elizabethan style, with half-timber frame and sagging tile roof.

  • An examination of Elizabethan writings does not conduce to the idea of the term having had a widespread acceptation.

British Dictionary definitions for Elizabethan

Elizabethan

/ (ɪˌlɪzəˈbiːθən) /


adjective
  1. of, characteristic of, or relating to England or its culture in the age of Elizabeth I or to the United Kingdom or its culture in the age of Elizabeth II

  2. of, relating to, or designating a style of architecture used in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, characterized by moulded and sculptured ornament based on German and Flemish models

noun
  1. a person who lived in England during the reign of Elizabeth I

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012