Definition

Proper noun: * A historical figure: Pliny the Younger was a Roman author, lawyer, and magistrate. He is primarily known for his published collection of letters, which provide a detailed eyewitness account of Roman life, politics, and major events, such as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. He was the nephew and adopted son of the naturalist Pliny the Elder.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • In his letters, Pliny the Younger described the eruption of Vesuvius and the death of his uncle.
  • The correspondence of Pliny the Younger with Emperor Trajan is a crucial historical source.
  • Scholars study the works of Pliny the Younger to understand the Roman legal system.

Advanced Usage

• As a metonym for detailed historical correspondence: The name can be used to represent the idea of a comprehensive, first-person written record of a historical period.
  • His diaries are so thorough, they are like the Pliny the Younger of our era.

Variants and Related Words

• Pliny the Elder (Proper noun): His uncle, a Roman naturalist, author, and naval commander, who died during the Vesuvius eruption.
• Plinian (Adjective): Relating to or characteristic of the writings of either Pliny. In volcanology, a "Plinian eruption" describes a violent, explosive volcanic event, named after Pliny the Younger's description of Vesuvius.

Synonyms

• Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus: His full Latin name.

Related Phrases

• Letters of Pliny: The most common way to refer to his surviving body of work.
  • The Letters of Pliny offer a window into the social world of the early Roman Empire.

Noun

1. Roman writer and nephew of Pliny the Elder; author of books of letters that commented on affairs of the day (62-113)