Laodicean

English

Etymology

From Latin Laodicea, from Ancient Greek Λαοδικεια (Laodikeia), a city in Asia Minor.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leɪədɪˈsiːən/

Adjective

Laodicean (comparative more Laodicean, superlative most Laodicean)

1. pertaining to Laodicea
2. lukewarm, neither hot nor cold (with reference to Revelation 3:16)
   • 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita:

     The baths were mostly tiled showers, with an endless variety of spouting mechanisms, but with one definitely non-Laodicean characteristic in common, a propensity, while in use, to turn instantly beastly hot or blindingly cold upon you, depending on whether your neighbor turned on his cold or his hot to deprive you of a necessary complement in the shower you had so carefully blended.

Noun

Laodicean (plural Laodiceans)

1. Somebody from Laodicea