Parnassian
adjective · first attested 17th century
A limestone mountain above Delphi became the postal address of poetry itself.
Of or relating to poetry; specifically, of the nineteenth century French school of poets who favored formal restraint over Romantic feeling.
38.5330°N 22.6167°E · Q105261
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 17th century
- Part of speech
- adjective
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Mount Parnassus
- In English
Parnassian
Parnassus rises above Delphi and was held sacred to Apollo and the Muses, so climbing Parnassus became a figure for writing verse, and English has used Parnassian for anything poetic since the seventeenth century. The narrower sense comes from the anthology Le Parnasse contemporain, published from 1866, whose contributors, including Leconte de Lisle and Heredia, were called Parnassiens. Their creed was precision and impersonality.