dorian

/ˈdɔːɹiən/

dorian is the obsolete spelling of durian.

Meaning of durian

durian (countable and uncountable, plural durians)

Any of several trees, genus Durio, of Southeast Asia.
The spiky edible fruit of this tree, known for its strong taste and very strong, unpleasant odor.
- Whether the Betele hath such a contrariety to the Durion, that a few Leaves of that, put to a whole Shopful of Durions, will make them all rot suddenly; and whether those that have surfeited on Durions, and thereby over-heated themselves, do, by laying a Leaf or two of Betele upon their Breasts or...1692, Robert Boyle, General Heads for the Natural History of a Country Great or Small, London: John Taylor and S. Hedford, “Enquiries for Suratte, &c.,” p. 96
(uncountable) A deep, rich yellow colour, like that of durian flesh (also called durian yellow).

Dorian (comparative more Dorian, superlative most Dorian)

Of or relating to the Dorians.
Homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively men as romantic or sexual partners; male counterpart of lesbian.
- while the [Dorian] love of males for males in Greece obtained moralisation, and reached the high position of a recognised social function, the [Lesbian] love of female for female remained undeveloped and unhonoured1883, John Addington Symonds, chapter 19, in A Problem in Greek Ethics
- All the Spartan kings and generals grew up under the institution of Dorian love. Epameinondas and Alexander were notable lovers; and the names of their comrades are recorded.1890, John Addington Symonds in A. Strahan, The Contemporary Review, page 416
Of or relating to the oceanid Doris in Greek mythology.
Of or relating to the asteroid (48) Doris.

Dorian (plural Dorians)

Dorian

A male given name from Ancient Greek, famously used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891).
A female given name.

Constructed like the French Doriens. From the Latin root of Dōres + -ian. Compare Ancient Greek Δωριεύς (Dōrieús, “of Doris”).

What does dorian mean?: Dorian means of or relating to the Dorians.
What is dorian the obsolete spelling of?: Dorian is the obsolete spelling of durian.
What part of speech is dorian?: Dorian can be an adjective, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce dorian?: Dorian is pronounced /ˈdɔːɹiən/.

Adapted from Wiktionary: dorian (page history and authors); Dorian (page history and authors); durian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Dorian.wav.

Cite this entry: “dorian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dorian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.