Parnassian

American  

[pahr-nas-ee-uhn] / pɑrˈnæs i ən /

adjective

1. pertaining to Mount Parnassus.

2. pertaining to poetry.

3. of, relating to, or noting a school of French poets of the latter half of the 19th century, characterized chiefly by a belief in art for art's sake, by an emphasis on metrical form, and by the repression of emotive elements: so called from Le Parnasse Contemporain, the title of their first collection of poems, published in 1866.

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noun

1. a member of the Parnassian school of French poets.

Parnassian ¹ British  

/ pɑːˈnæsɪən /

noun

1. one of a school of French poets of the late 19th century who wrote verse that emphasized metrical form and restricted emotion

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Parnassians or their poetry

Parnassian ² British  

/ pɑːˈnæsɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Mount Parnassus or poetry

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Other Word Forms

• Parnassianism noun
• Parnassism noun

Etymology

Origin of Parnassian

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin Parnassi(us) “of Parnassus ” + -an

Example Sentences

His individual voice materializes in settings of Paul Bourget, Théodore de Banville, Baudelaire, Verlaine, and Mallarmé—poets who ranged from Parnassian classicism to Symbolist esotericism.

From The New Yorker

Karen Hankins of Crandall caught a nice-sized Rocky Mountain Parnassian early in the Park County count.

From Washington Times

Head for higher elevations at the top of Tower Mountain for the best chance to find a mountain parnassian.

From Washington Times

His granular, giddy analysis of Scottish bard William Topaz McGonagall, “widely acclaimed as the worst poet in history,” fascinates as the negative expression of a Parnassian ideal.

From Slate

Particularly jarring is a passage from “Funeral Toast,” in which Mallarmé celebrates his Parnassian predecessor Théophile Gautier:

From The New Yorker