As far as I can tell, "Grecian" and "Greek" both mean "of or pertaining to Greece." Is there any difference at all between them?
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3 Answers
In Modern English, Greek is the usual adjective meaning of or pertaining to Greece.
Grecian is an earlier construction, with an adjective-forming -an suffix (American, Norwegian, Virginian), which is now pretty much relegated to stylistic and fixed phrase duty. It's common in the following expressions, among others:
- Grecian Formula
- Grecian urn
- Grecian style or Grecian dress
- Grecian sandals
But there is no Grecian restaurant, Grecian wine, or Grecian language.
answered Apr 7, 2012 at 2:19
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11'What's a Grecian urn?' 'Just a few drachmas a week.' Commented Apr 7, 2012 at 6:33
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Many instances of Grecian in the later half of your answer. True. But why? What makes a Grecian urn different from _ Greek urn. (Well, there can be a Greek urn).– KrisCommented Apr 18, 2012 at 11:58
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Just the fashion, ma'am, just the fashion. Note that one of the phrases is a trademark for a men's cosmetic, two are women's clothing styles, and the other is attached to a rarely-used or -understood word that was briefly fashionable in certain circles (i.e, it's an idiom). Grecian urn was a popular phrase in the 19th century, when Grecian was in fashion. That's all; just the remains of deceased adjectives. Commented Apr 22, 2012 at 15:01
"Grecian" means "in a style used by the inhabitants of Greece," and so anyone could make, say, a Grecian urn. "Greek" means either an inhabitant of Greece, or from Greece, so a Greek urn must come from Greece.
answered Apr 7, 2012 at 2:18
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3I disagree. If you mix lettuce with olives, feta cheese, and chunks of meat, that's a Greek salad. Commented May 11, 2012 at 15:20
Grecian in my experience seems to used solely to describe the esthetic product of Classical Greek culture. Thus, a Grecian urn but a Greek soldier; Grecian pillars but Greek philosophy. And of course, Grecian Formula but Greek financial collapse.
answered May 11, 2012 at 15:23
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While that's a pattern, a common title of Plutarch's Lives is Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans; I don't think all these noble Grecians were particularly aesthetic products. Commented Aug 25, 2012 at 5:00
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1@JasonFruit -- in 1668, when Dryden published the first complete English translation of Lives, "Grecian" might have been the word for a Greek person (or just an Ancient Greek person), but I don't think that's been true for a while. Commented Aug 25, 2012 at 6:12
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No doubt that customary title survived to the late 19th-Century edition I have. Commented Aug 25, 2012 at 13:09
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Reading now the 6th volume of Grote's History of Ancient Greece published in 1846, I can state that at the time 'Grecian' was a commonly adjective, not limited to arts and esthetics. Here is a sentence I'm reading: "Thucydides has taken advantage of it to give a sort of general sketch of Grecian politics during the Peloponnesian war..." He seldom uses 'Greek' as an adjective. Commented Apr 25, 2020 at 21:17