Fabian

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See also: fabian, Fabián, and Fábián

English

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Etymology

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From Latin Fabiānus (belonging to Fabius), derived from Fabius + -ānus.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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Fabian (comparative more Fabian, superlative most Fabian)

  1. (military) Pertaining to or reminiscent of Roman general Fabius Maximus, whose tactics against Hannibal during the Second Punic War famously consisted of delaying or avoiding combat, focusing instead on weakening the enemy by cutting off supply lines.
    • 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford, published 2004, page 745:
      Hood complained behind his commander's back to Richmond of Johnston's Fabian strategy.
  2. (politics) Advocating that social reforms be reached through a series of gradual and moderate stages rather than sudden revolution; specifically, relating to the Fabian Society, a British socialist society advocating reformist socialism.
  3. (by extension) cautious; dilatory; avoiding a decisive contest.

Alternative forms

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Translations

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Noun

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Fabian (plural Fabians)

  1. (politics) A Fabian socialist, a gradualist socialist; a member of the Fabian Society.
    Synonyms: gradualist, reformist, social democrat
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Proper noun

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 Fabian (name) on Wikipedia

Fabian

  1. (rare) A male given name from Latin.
  2. A surname.

Translations

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Faroese

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Proper noun

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Fabian m

  1. a male given name

Usage notes

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  • son of Fabian: Fabiansson
  • daughter of Fabian: Fabiansdóttir

Declension

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Singular
Indefinite
Nominative Fabian
Accusative Fabian
Dative Fabiani
Genitive Fabians

German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin Fabiānus (belonging to Fabius).

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Fabian m

  1. a male given name

Occitan

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Proper noun

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Fabian m

  1. (Gascony) a male given name, equivalent to English Fabian

References

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  • Patric Guilhemjoan, Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), 2005, Orthez, per noste, 2005, →ISBN, page 148.

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin Fabianus.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Fabian m pers

  1. a male given name, equivalent to English Fabian

Declension

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Further reading

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  • Fabian in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Swedish

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Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Fabian c (genitive Fabians)

  1. a male given name
  2. (minced oath, colloquial) Euphemistic form of fan.
    Synonym: fabian

Usage notes

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Most common in "fy Fabian."