Ionian
UK /aɪˈəʊni.ən/ · US /aɪˈoʊni.ən/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms Ionians the Ionian
- adjective Relating to the Hellenic people of that name.
- adjective Pertaining to Ionia, the ancient (ca 1100 BC) region including western Asia Minor and the adjacent Aegean Islands occupied by the Ionian people.
- adjective (music) Designating the Ionian mode or scale; the name of the major key in modal theory.
- noun A member of the Ionians, one of the races of Ancient Greece.
- proper noun (geology, paleontology) A subdivision of the Pleistocene epoch.
- adjective Only used in Ionian Islands.
- adjective (astronomy, planetology) Relating to Io, one of the moons of the planet Jupiter.
- adjective (astronomy) Relating to the asteroid (52) Io.
- noun (science fiction) An inhabitant of Io, a moon of Jupiter.
Etymology
The origin of the sea’s name is uncertain. The Ionian Sea was believed in the Greek tradition to have been named after Io, who was said to have swum in it. The geological period was named after the Ionian Coast in Italy.
From Io (“moon of Jupiter”) + -n- + -ian.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L. Ionius. See Ionic.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Ionian”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details