fin de siècle

[ fan duh sye-kluh ]

noun

1. the end of the 19th century.

adjective

1. Sometimes fin-de-siècle. of, relating to, or characterized by concepts of art, society, etc., associated with the end of the 19th century.

fin de siècle

/ fɛ̃ də sjɛklə /

noun

1. the end of the 19th century, when traditional social, moral, and artistic values were in transition

adjective

1. of or relating to the close of the 19th century
2. decadent, esp in artistic tastes

fin de siècle

1. The end of the nineteenth century; the phrase is French for “end of the century.” Fin de siècle is particularly used to describe the period's self-conscious artistic movements and a sophisticated despair that became popular at the time. Oscar Wilde is one of the best-known fin-de-siècle figures.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fin de siècle¹

First recorded in 1885–95; from French: “end of century”; fine ¹( def ), de ( def ), secular ( def )

Example Sentences

This was the starting point of the thoughtful collection, which featured romantic silhouettes fusing the fin de siècle French and English Edwardian styles — through riding coats, sack suits and riding boots — with urban styles such as cargo elements and archival pieces from Woo’s early 2000s collections.

From Seattle Times

Nigro would often take him to Manhattan’s Central Park, where they’d rent a boat for an hour or two and then paddle up, down, and around the placid lake, through the lily pads, looking like fin de siècle oarsmen in an Impressionist painting.

From Literature

Scenic designer Derek McLane creates a festive ambience, evocative not so much of fin de siècle Paris, where the story of “Moulin Rouge” takes place, but of a secret gallery of wonder at the Paris Las Vegas hotel casino, where a replica of the Eiffel Tower livens up the skyline, fooling no one.

From Los Angeles Times

In particular, I was curious whether his re-creation of culturally oversaturated fin de siècle Vienna, a vanished world that continues to fascinate, would convince an audience more familiar with that glittering epoch.

From New York Times

The party quickly took on a mythic distinction in the city’s social history as a fin de siècle assemblage of Those Who Mattered, when print media still had the cachet to make those determinations.

From New York Times