Victorian

Definition

Of or relating to the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, or that period.

Etymology

From Victoria + -an (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns), from the name of Queen Victoria (1819–1901), monarch of the United Kingdom.

Example Sentences

• "From the platforms at Wapping or Rotherhithe you can see the tunnel fleetingly illuminated as the trains approach; it looks so incredibly Victorian that you expect to see Jack the Ripper loitering between the arches."
• "One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city's effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination."
• "In some cases, teachers reported being aware of pupils living in "Victorian conditions", of youngsters coming to school with no socks or coat and of more families depending on food banks."