Smithsonian
UK/smɪθˈsəʊni.ən/
Smithsonian adjective: of or pertaining to James Smithson (c.1765–1829), British mineralogist and chemist whose bequest was used to set up the Smithsonian Institution in the United States.
Adjective
Smithsonian (comparative more Smithsonian, superlative most Smithsonian)
- Of or pertaining to James Smithson (c.1765–1829), British mineralogist and chemist whose bequest was used to set up the Smithsonian Institution in the United States.
Proper noun
the Smithsonian
- The Smithsonian Institution, a group of museums and research centers established in 1846 and administered by the United States government.
- Published in 1982, the now out-of-print computer guide is a real relic, full of dozens of black-and-white pictures of large, bulky computers that you would sooner find in the Smithsonian than on anybody's desk today.1991, U.S. News & World Report, volume 116, numbers 9-16, page 72
Forms of Smithsonian
| comparative | more Smithsonian |
|---|---|
| superlative | most Smithsonian |
Origin of Smithsonian
From Smithson + -ian.
Words formed from Smithsonian
Words that rhyme with Smithsonian
- Exonian
- hamiltonian
- amazonian
- Andersonian
- apollonian
- Ionian
- Macedonian
- newtonian
- Plutonian
- usonian
- Wilsonian
- Babylonian
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- Burtonian
- Caledonian
- Ciceronian
- Clintonian
- Cronian
- Estonian
- Flintstonian
- jacksonian
- Johnsonian
- Kingstonian
- Petersonian
- Simonian
- Washingtonian
- Watsonian
- Aberdonian
- addisonian
- Arlingtonian
- Baconian
- Bostonian
- Brunonian
- Cameronian
- Carsonian
- Catonian
- Chalcedonian
- clactonian
- Cottonian
- Devonian
- draconian
- Draytonian
- favonian
- Franconian
- Freedonian
- gorgonian
- Haligonian
- Hamptonian
- heliconian
- Hudsonian
- Hugonian
- Huntingtonian
- Huronian
- Koronian
- Lacedaemonian
- Langtonian
- Londonian
- Maidstonian
- Mertonian
- Miltonian
- Morrisonian
Questions about Smithsonian
- What does Smithsonian mean?
- Smithsonian means of or pertaining to James Smithson (c.1765–1829), British mineralogist and chemist whose bequest was used to set up the Smithsonian Institution in the United States.
- What part of speech is Smithsonian?
- Smithsonian can be an adjective or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Smithsonian?
- Smithsonian is pronounced /smɪθˈsəʊni.ən/ (UK).
Words near Smithsonian in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Smithsonian (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:
Cite this entry: “Smithsonian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/smithsonian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.