Saturnian adjective & noun. [sǝ'tǝ:nɪǝn] M16.
[Latin Saturnius (from Saturnus SATURN) + -AN.]
A. adjective.
1. a. Of or pertaining to the planet Saturn; attributed to the malign influence of Saturn. M16.
b. Physics. Of or pertaining to a former model of the nuclear atom in which electrons are assumed to orbit in rings around a central nucleus, thus resembling the appearance of Saturn. Now Hist. E20.

2. Pertaining to the god Saturn, esp. with ref. to the supposed golden age of his reign. E17.

3. Prosody. Designating the metre used in early Roman poetry, before the introduction of Greek metres. L17.
b. noun.
1. A person born under the astrological influence of the planet Saturn; a person of saturnine temperament. Only in L16.

2. An (imagined) inhabitant of the planet Saturn. M18.

3. Prosody. In pl. Saturnian verses. rare. L19.

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