Lucretian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to the ancient Roman poet Lucretius, author of the philosophical poem On the Nature of Things, or to his ideas
2. Describing the thought, verse or Epicurean-inspired philosophy associated with the Roman writer Titus Lucretius Carus
3. Pertaining to the Latin poet Lucretius and the materialist worldview expressed in his didactic verse

Etymology: Lucretian is a straightforward formation: it combines the name of the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius, author of the long didactic poem "De rerum natura" ("On the Nature of Things"), with the adjectival suffix "-an," which turns a proper name into a word meaning "of or relating to" that person. The result is used both as an adjective for things connected with Lucretius and his ideas and as a noun for a follower of his. Because the poem is the main surviving vehicle of Epicurean atomism in Latin, "Lucretian" is most often attached to that philosophy: a Lucretian view of the universe is one built from tiny moving particles with no divine design behind them. The word therefore carries the poem's core commitments with it, not just the poet's name.

Synonyms: epicurean