Slavonian, n. and a.
(sləˈvəʊnɪən)
Also 6–7 Sclauonian, 7–9 Sclavonian.
[f. med.L. S(c)lavonia the country of the Slavs, f. S(c)lavus Slav. Slavonia is spec. the name of a region of Croatia.]
A. n.
1. The language of the Slavs; Slavic; Slavonic.
| α 1577 Dee Memor. Navig. 62 Far-Forreyn-Languages: As..the Sclauonian, or Moschouite, the Arabik Vulgar, the Turkish [etc.]. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 17 Nov. 1644, In the Church are confession-seates for all languages, Hebrew, Greek,..Welsh, Sclavonian, Dutch, &c. 1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. xlv[i]. II. 28 In Pera they speak Turkish, Greek, Hebrew,..Russian, Sclavonian. 1839 Donaldson New Cratylus §88 (1850) 130 The resemblance of Sclavonian to Latin and the oldest element of Greek. |
| β 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 107/1 The works of St. Ambrosius..were translated into Slavonian. 1906 P. Kropotkin Mem. Revolutionist (1908) II. viii. 125 A useless mixture of Russian and old Slavonian obscured the sense. |
2. A person of Slavonic origin; a
Slav.| α 1601 Holland Pliny I. 181 One Dando a Sclauonian, who liued 500 yeres. 1648 Hexham ii, De Sclavoenen, the Sclavonians. 1756 A. Maclaine tr. Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. xii. i. i. §5 The Sclavonians, a rough and barbarous people. 1845 Kitto Cycl. Bibl. Lit. s.v. Gog, Beyond the Tartars and Sclavonians. 1876 A. J. Evans Through Bosnia ii. 77 The Sclavonians of the Austrian side. |
| β 1614 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. 58 Among which the principall in Europe, are the Slauonians themselues. 1782 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2) IX. 6896/2 The Slavi, or Slavonians, corruptly called the Sclavonians. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 101/1 Jornandes, the first writer who mentions the Slavonians. 1883 Morfill Slavonic Lit. i. 20 The Slavonians were glad that they heard the great things of God in their language. |
B. adj. 1. Of or pertaining to the Slavs; Slavonic; Slavic.
| α 1605 Camden Rem. 40 Alan is thought by Iulius Scaliger..to signifie an hownd in the Sclavonian tongue. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 75 The Hermonduri and Sorabi of the Sclavonian Nation. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 4 The Highdutch, the Sclavonian, and Curland Language. 1724 Waterland Athan. Creed vi. 94 Cyrill and Methodius, who are said to have invented the Sclavonian letters, and to have translated the Scriptures into the Sclavonian tongue. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. lv. V. 550 The Hungarian language stands alone..among the Sclavonian dialects. 1830 H. G. Knight Eastern Sketches Pref. p. xxix, Of Sclavonian or Illyrian extraction. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr tr. Ranke's Hist. Servia i. 5 In reviewing the history of the various Sclavonian tribes. |
| β 1613 M. Ridley Magn. Bodies 66 To have three teeth, like a Slavonian T. 1614 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. 59 Of the Turks dominion onely Epirus..speake vulgarly the Slauonian tongue. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. lv. V. 543 The original stock of the Sclavonian, or more properly Slavonian, race. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 101/1 The Slavonian or Slavic race..comprehends about 70,000,000 inhabitants. 1876 A. J. Evans Through Bosnia ii. 80 Here a Slavonian gentleman intervened. |
2. Of or pertaining to Slavonic countries. In the bird-names
Slavonian falcon,
Slavonian grebe. Also,
Slavonian oak, the silvery timber of a European oak,
esp. Quercus robur or
Q. petræa, grown in the Slavonian region of Yugoslavia.
| 1809 Shaw Gen. Zool. VII. i. 171 Sclavonian Falcon. Falco Sclavonicus. 1843 Yarrell Brit. Birds III. 308 The Sclavonian Grebe..is rather a rare bird here in summer. 1889 H. Saunders Brit. Birds 705 The Slavonian Grebe is a northern species. 1938 E. H. P. Boulton Dict. Wood 127 Oak, Slavonian... Similar to English Oak but softer. 1956 Handbk. of Hardwoods (Forest Prod. Res. Lab.) 167 Slavonian oak, from Yugoslavia, is typically of slow, even growth, has a uniform colour and straight grain, and is mild and easy to work. 1966 A. W. Lewis Gloss. Woodworking Terms 106 Slavonian oak (throughout Europe). |
3. Coming from Slavonic regions.
| 1812 Cary Dante, Purg. xxx. 88 As snow..closely piled by rough Sclavonian blasts. |
Hence
Slaˈvonianize v. trans., to Slavicize.
| 1885 Science VI. 303 They [the Bulgarians] are not of pure Slavic descent, but are a Slavonianized race. |