Herodian

American  

[huh-roh-dee-uhn] / həˈroʊ di ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Herod the Great, his family, or its partisans.

---

noun

1. a partisan of the house of Herod.

2. a member of a political group that supported the dynasty of Herod and opposed Jesus.

Etymology

Origin of Herodian

< Late Latin (Vulgate) Hērōdiānī (plural); see Herod, -ian

Example Sentences

Jesus opposed not only the Roman overlords, Mr. Aslan writes, but also their representatives in Palestine: “the Temple priests, the wealthy Jewish aristocracy, the Herodian elite.”

From New York Times • Aug. 5, 2013

The harmony with Rome stretched Herodian Judea's borders into current-day Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2013

A massive Ionic capital hanging from the hall's ceiling and a chunk of limestone on the floor—a typical Herodian "brick" the size of a small refrigerator—explain why Herod was called "the great."

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2013

As a Herodian, she will eventually drain her lake bed dry.

From Time Magazine Archive

The tradition and the assertion are in all probability equally fictitious and proceed respectively from the foes and the friends of the Herodian dynasty.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various