Pickwickian
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A person who has Pickwickian syndrome.
- 1 Arbitrary or meaningless (of the usage of a word or phrase).
"The Chairman felt it his imperative duty to demand of the honourable gentleman, whether he had used the expression which had just escaped him in a common sense. Mr. Blotton had no hesitation in saying that he had not—he had used the word in its Pickwickian sense."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of Pickwickian. alt-of, not-comparable
- 3 Having, or relating to, Pickwickian syndrome.
"This pattern of EEG and respiratory changes has been observed during both diurnal and nocturnal sleep in Pickwickian patients."
- 4 Of or relating to The Pickwick Papers, its storyline, or its characters (chiefly Samuel Pickwick himself).
"Calverley's test of Pickwickian scholarship has been followed by similar tests with which students of the Holmesian chronicles may put their knowledge of their hero's exploits to the proof."
Example
More examples"The Chairman felt it his imperative duty to demand of the honourable gentleman, whether he had used the expression which had just escaped him in a common sense. Mr. Blotton had no hesitation in saying that he had not—he had used the word in its Pickwickian sense."
Etymology
From Pickwick + -ian, from The Pickwick Papers (1836) by Charles Dickens, in which members of the Pickwick Club explain away unparliamentary language as having been uttered "in the Pickwickian sense".
Related phrases
More for "pickwickian"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.