Aeolian

¹

[ ee-oh-lee-uhn ]

adjective

1. pertaining to Aeolus, or to the winds in general.
2. Usually aeolian. of or caused by the wind; windblown.

Aeolian

²

or E·o·li·an

[ ee-oh-lee-uhn ]

adjective

1. Also belonging to a nation of people in ancient Greece named after Aeolus, its legendary founder.
2. (lowercase) Geology. noting or pertaining to sand or rock material carried or arranged by the wind.

noun

1. a member of one of the four main divisions of the prehistoric Greeks. Compare Achaean ( def 5 ), Dorian ¹( def 2 ), Ionian ( def 3 ).
2. Aeolic ( def 1 ).

Aeolian

¹

/ iːˈəʊlɪən /

noun

1. a member of a Hellenic people who settled in Thessaly and Boeotia and colonized Lesbos and parts of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor

adjective

1. of or relating to this people or their dialect of Ancient Greek; Aeolic
2. of or relating to Aeolus
3. denoting or relating to an authentic mode represented by the ascending natural diatonic scale from A to A: the basis of the modern minor key See also Hypo-

aeolian

²

/ iːˈəʊlɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the wind; produced or carried by the wind

aeolian

/ ē-ō′lē-ən /

1. See eolian

Word History and Origins

Origin of Aeolian¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; Aeoli(us) pertaining to Aeolus + -an adjective suffix; -an

Origin of Aeolian²

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin Aeoli(ī), (from Greek Aioleîs “the Aeolians,” with change of suffix) + -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of Aeolian¹

C18: from Aeolus , god of the winds

Example Sentences

Experts at navigating the steep landscape of Alicudi, in the Aeolian archipelago north of Sicily, the goats have become a problem as they damage gardens and allotments.

From BBC

It’s one of the Aeolian islands in Italy, and it looks out on Stromboli.

From New York Times

At first we turned to nature: The Aeolian harps found across ancient civilizations required only the intervention of the wind to share their song.

From Washington Post

A tension kindles between his precise, graceful sentences and his graphic scenes of sex, capricious as the music of an Aeolian harp.

From Washington Post

In 1921, the New York Times extended microaggressive praise for the “unusual” Hagan’s “uncommon gifts” following a recital at Aeolian Hall — referring to her as “one of those exotic musical souls born to be pioneers.”

From Washington Post