Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Licentious; obscene.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Pertaining to or characteristic of ancient Fescenniain Italy: specifically applied to a class of verses. See phrase below.
- noun A song of licentious or scurrilous character, popular in ancient Italy.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Pertaining to, or resembling, the Fescennines.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Obscene orscurrilous .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word fescennine.
Examples
-
Nowas makes his appearance the fun becomes fescennine and milesian.
-
Ali Shar (vol.iv. 187) shows at her sale the impudence of Miriam the Girdle-girl and in bed the fescennine device of the Lady Budur.
-
Most frequently, the dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot fell were obliged to assume and maintain, for a time, a certain fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine verses in a particular order.
Chapter XXXVI 1917
-
Here rang out the joyous conversation, interspersed with the Latin epithalamium of some impromptu poet, or the fescennine verses of a German minnesinger.
Pater Peter. English. M��r J��kai 1864
-
Finally, wherever the honest and independent old debauchee Abu Nowas makes his appearance the fun becomes fescennine and milesian.
Arabian nights. English Anonymous 1855
-
( "Smaragdine") in Ali Shar (vol.iv. 187) shows at her sale the impudence of Miriam the Girdle-girl and in bed the fescennine device of the Lady Budur.
Arabian nights. English Anonymous 1855
-
Most frequently the dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot fell were obliged to assume and maintain for a time a certain fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine verses in a particular order.
Guy Mannering 1815
-
Most frequently the dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot fell were obliged to assume and maintain for a time a certain fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine verses in a particular order.
Guy Mannering, Or, the Astrologer — Volume 02 Walter Scott 1801
-
Most frequently the dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot fell were obliged to assume and maintain for a time a certain fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine verses in a particular order.
Guy Mannering, Or, the Astrologer — Complete Walter Scott 1801
-
Most frequently the dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot fell were obliged to assume and maintain for a time a certain fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine verses in a particular order.
Guy Mannering — Complete Walter Scott 1801
pavonine commented on the word fescennine
adj.
Licentious; obscene.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Latin Fescennnus, of Fescennia, a town of ancient Etruria known for its licentious poetry.
August 16, 2008
laiane commented on the word fescennine
I actually heard this for the first time on an episode of Dr. Who, "The Caves of Androzani" (With Peter Davison as the 5th doctor, for you fans). I only knew its spelling because I had subtitles turned on.
March 11, 2012