Ossianic

[ os-ee-an-ik, osh-ee- ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Ossian, the poetry attributed to him, or the rhythmic prose published by James Macpherson in 1762–63, purporting to be a translation from the Scottish Gaelic.
2. grandiloquent; bombastic.

Ossianic

/ ˌɒsɪˈænɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or reminiscent of Ossian, a legendary Irish hero and bard of the 3rd century a.d

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ossianic¹

First recorded in 1800–10; Ossian + -ic

Example Sentences

In the “Book of Leinster,” the greatest repertory of Gaelic literature that exists in one volume, there is only one story that can be called an Ossianic or Finnian one, while nearly half the book is taken up with tracts and stories relating to the cycle of Cuchulainn, which was nearly three centuries earlier than that of Ossian and Finn.

From Project Gutenberg

There are a few in which Cuchulainn is mentioned, and M’Pherson in his Ossian mixes the Ossianic and Cuchulainn cycles together, although they were three centuries apart.

From Project Gutenberg

The militia of which Finn was the Commander-in-Chief, and of which his father and grandfather had also been commanders, are the heroes of hundreds of Ossianic tales and poems.

From Project Gutenberg

But how would an Irish bard, drawing his inspiration from the primeval Ossianic sources, and thinking in the true ecstatic spirit of the Irish muse, speak, if he were condemned to speak, in the speech of the Saxon?

From Project Gutenberg

In these exquisite verses, the language is as strict to the point as if it were taken from Mr. Smith's "Action at Law;" but the reader will remark how every figure reminds him, and yet not in any mere mimetic fashion, of the spirit and illustrations of the Ossianic poetry.

From Project Gutenberg