Aeolian
//iˈoʊ.li.ən// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A lightweight fabric with a ribbed surface, generally made by combining silk and cotton, or silk and worsted warp and weft. countable, uncountable
- 2 Clipping of Aeolian mode. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, uncountable
- 3 the ancient Greek inhabitants of Aeolia wordnet
- 4 a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks, spoken in Boethia, Thessaly, in the Aegean island of Lesbos, and the Greek colonies of Asia Minor wordnet
Adjective
- 1 of, or relating to the wind. not-comparable
- 2 Relating to Aeolus, the Greek god of wind. not-comparable
- 3 carried, deposited or eroded by the wind. not-comparable
- 4 Designating the Aeolian mode or scale; the name of the minor key in modal theory. not-comparable
"And they played softly in the Aeolian mode a music that was like the wailing of wind through bare branches on a moonless night, and the Red Foliot leaned forth from his high seat and recited this lamentation: […]"
- 5 Aeolian mode not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 of or relating to Aeolis or its ancient Greek people wordnet
- 2 of or pertaining to Aeolus, the Greek god of the winds; relating to or caused by the wind wordnet
Example
More examples"And they played softly in the Aeolian mode a music that was like the wailing of wind through bare branches on a moonless night, and the Red Foliot leaned forth from his high seat and recited this lamentation: […]"
Etymology
From Aeolus + -ian or Aeolis + -an.
Related phrases
More for "aeolian"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.