Ionian

Ionian
Ionian "of Ionia," the districts of ancient Greece inhabited by the Ionians (including Attica and the north coast of the Peloponnesus, but especially the coastal strip of Asia Minor, including the islands of Samos and Chios). The name (which Herodotus credits to an ancestral Ion, son of Apollo and Creusa) probably is pre-Greek, perhaps related to Skt. yoni "womb, vulva," and a reference to goddess-worshipping people. Also used of the sea that lies between Italy and the northern Peloponnesus (1630s). The musical Ionian mode (1844) corresponds to our basic major scale but was characterized by the Greeks as soft and effeminate, as were the Ionians generally.
The Ionians delighted in wanton dances and songs more than the rest of the Greeks ... and wanton gestures were proverbially termed Ionic motions. [Thomas Robinson, "Archæologica Græca," 1807]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • ionian — IONIÁN, Ă, ionieni, e, s.m. şi f., adj. 1. s.m. şi f. Persoană care făcea parte din populaţia de bază a Ioniei sau care era originară din Ionia. 2. adj. Care aparţinea Ioniei sau populaţiei ei, privitor la Ionia sau la populaţia ei. ♢ Şcoala… …   Dicționar Român

  • Ionian — [ī ō′nē ən] adj. 1. of Ionia or its people or culture 2. of an ancient Greek people that settled in eastern Greece and in Ionia n. an Ionian Greek …   English World dictionary

  • Ionian — I*o ni*an, a. [L. Ionius. See {Ionic}.] Of or pertaining to Ionia or the Ionians; Ionic. n. A native or citizen of Ionia. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ionian — /uy oh nee euhn/, adj. 1. of or pertaining to Ionia. 2. of or pertaining to the branch of the Greek people named from Ion, their legendary founder. n. 3. a member of one of the four main divisions of the prehistoric Greeks who invaded the Greek… …   Universalium

  • Ionian — 1. adjective a) Relating to the Hellenic people of that name. b) Ionic, of Ionia, the ancient (ca 1100 BC) region including western Asia Minor and the adjacent Aegean Islands occupied by the Ionian people. See Also …   Wiktionary

  • Ionian — noun 1》 a member of an ancient Hellenic people inhabiting Attica, parts of western Asia Minor, and the Aegean islands in pre classical times. 2》 a native or inhabitant of the Ionian Islands, a chain of islands off the western coast of mainland… …   English new terms dictionary

  • Ionian — noun Etymology: Ionia, Asia Minor Date: 1550 1. a member of any of the Greek peoples who settled on the islands of the Aegean Sea and the western shore of Asia Minor toward the end of the second millennium B.C. 2. a native or inhabitant of Ionia… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Ionian — /aɪˈoʊniən/ (say uy ohneeuhn) adjective 1. relating to Ionia. 2. relating to the inhabitants of Ionia who were named after Ion, the legendary founder. –noun 3. an Ionian Greek …  

  • Ionian — n. & adj. n. a native or inhabitant of ancient Ionia in W. Asia Minor. adj. of or relating to Ionia or the Ionians. Phrases and idioms: Ionian mode Mus. the mode represented by the natural diatonic scale C C. Etymology: L Ionius f. Gk Ionios …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ionian Islands — • A group of seven islands and a number of islets scattered over the Ionian Sea to the west of Greece Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Ionian Islands     Ionian Islands     …   Catholic encyclopedia

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