Saturnian

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the planet Saturn or having characteristics associated with the Roman god Saturn, such as being gloomy, sluggish, or melancholic
2. Pertaining to the characteristics or attributes linked to the planet Saturn or the Roman deity Saturn, often implying a sense of slowness or melancholy
3. Associated with either the celestial body Saturn or the mythological figure Saturn, typically suggests traits like gloom or heaviness

Etymology: The word "saturnian" is a plain formation: the name of the Roman god Saturn with the English suffix "-ian", which turns a proper name into an adjective meaning "relating to" that name. The suffix itself is a long-established one, passing into English through Latin "-iānus" and the Latin adjectives built from names such as "Saturnius" and "Saturnianus" (the Latin "Saturnus" itself is the source of the English name). The Roman god Saturn was linked with an age of legendary peace and plenty, the so-called Saturnian Age, so the adjective carried a sense of a golden, distant past. The gloom in the modern definition comes from a different association. In medieval and early modern thought, Saturn was the most distant of the classical planets, and astrologers credited it with melancholy, coldness and slowness. People born under its influence were thought to be saturnine, and the same astrological tradition shaped the gloomy sense that "saturnian" picks up in English. The word thus moved from a gentle, mythic golden age toward a heavier, more sombre temperament.