Al·ex·an·dri·an
ˌa-lig-ˈzan-drē-ən 
ˌe-
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of Alexandria and especially Alexandria, Egypt
2
3
: of or relating to Alexander the Great
Examples of Alexandrian in a Sentence
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Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
Hair-raising accounts of a similar sea monster were recorded by Alexandrian scribes as early as the second century A.D.; these accounts spread through Europe and Asia in Arabic, Coptic, Latin and Old English translations.
—Nina Goldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 June 2023
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Noun
Ever since the third century B.C.E., when the Ptolemaic dynasty erected a monumental lighthouse on the Alexandrian coast, people have been fiddling with combinations of fire, mirrors, and lenses, in the hope of producing a stronger beacon.
—Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
Hair-raising accounts of a similar sea monster were recorded by Alexandrian scribes as early as the second century A.D.; these accounts spread through Europe and Asia in Arabic, Coptic, Latin and Old English translations.
—Nina Goldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Alexandrian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Alexandrian. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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