Rafflesian
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A current or former student of an educational institution named after Sir Stamford Raffles. Singapore
"By 1961 the first Yang di Pertuan Negara (a former Rafflesian) of self-governing Singapore, Enche Yusof bin Ishak, addressed the school on founder's day – one of the grandest of all founder's day celebrations in the school's history."
- 1 Of or relating to Sir Stamford Raffles, a British colonial statesman known for his founding of modern Singapore and British Malaya. not-comparable
"A specimen of this species belongs to the Rafflesian collection; but it is believed that it was brought from Borneo, whence Sir Stamford obtained some valuable subjects of Natural History, particularly the two following subjects."
- 2 Of or relating to an educational institution named after Sir Stamford Raffles. Singapore, not-comparable
"But Philip Liau was always in the thick of Rafflesian life and he made his impact in much more subtle and direct ways. His closeness to his teachers was exemplified by the fact that he regarded them with respect and allowed no one to take them for granted."
Example
More examples"A specimen of this species belongs to the Rafflesian collection; but it is believed that it was brought from Borneo, whence Sir Stamford obtained some valuable subjects of Natural History, particularly the two following subjects."
Etymology
From Raffles, the surname of Sir Stamford Raffles (1781–1826) + -ian (suffix forming adjectives or nouns meaning ‘belonging to, relating to, or like’).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.