Relating to or characteristic of Cicero, the Roman orator, or his style of eloquent and refined public speaking.
From Latin Cicero, the famous Roman statesman and orator (106-43 BCE), plus the suffix -ian meaning 'of or pertaining to.' The term emerged during the Renaissance when scholars studied classical oratory.
During the Renaissance, scholars became so obsessed with imitating Cicero's perfect Latin sentences that they created an entire movement called Ciceronianism—some scholars even refused to use words Cicero hadn't used, which is hilariously limiting for discussing, say, modern technology!
Adjective derived from Cicero (male). When used to describe oratorical style or eloquence, it implicitly references a male standard of rhetorical excellence established in antiquity.
Use to describe eloquent or classical rhetorical style without implying the speaker's gender. Acknowledge that rhetorical excellence is gender-neutral.
["eloquent","classically styled","rhetorical"]
Female orators throughout history matched or exceeded Cicero's eloquence but rhetoric was codified as a male domain.
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