Baconian

From Bacon +‎ -ian.

• IPA^(key): /bəˈkəʊn.ɪən/
• Rhymes: -əʊniən

Baconian (comparative more Baconian, superlative most Baconian)

1. (philosophy) Of or pertaining to Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English statesman and polymath, or his writings.
2. Of or relating to Nathaniel Bacon (Virginia colonist) (1647–1676), who instigated Bacon's Rebellion.

• Baconianism
• Baconian cipher
• Baconian induction
• Baconian method

Baconian (plural Baconians)

1. One who adheres to the philosophy of Francis Bacon.
2. One who believes that Francis Bacon wrote the plays attributed to William Shakespeare.
   • 1891, Shakespeariana: A Critical and Contemporary Review of Shakespearian Literature, page 195:

     In this paper I propose to say something about the attempt of the Baconian theorists to "work" Ben Jonson over into a witness against William Shakespeare, not because it is necessary to reslay the slain Baconian, but to illustrate that here as elsewhere, and all along the line, there is "nothing in it."

   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World , London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     So looks the Shakespearean who is confronted by a rancid Baconian, or the astronomer who is assailed by a flat-earth fanatic.

• (believer in Bacon as the author of Shakespeare plays): Bacon-Shakespearean