Fabian /(?)/

Fa·bi·an

Fabian

a.
  1. Of, pertaining to, or in the manner of, the Roman general, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus; cautious; dilatory; avoiding a decisive contest.

Phrases & Compounds
Fabian policy
a policy like that of Fabius Maximus, who, by carefully avoiding decisive contests, foiled Hannibal, harassing his army by marches, countermarches, and ambuscades; a policy of delays and cautions.

Fabian

a.
  1. Of or pertaining to the Roman gens Fabia.
  2. Designating, or pertaining to, a society of socialists, organized in England in 1884 to spread socialistic principles gradually without violent agitation.
    The Fabian Society proposes then to conquer by delay; to carry its programme, not by a hasty rush, but through the slower, but, as it thinks, surer methods of patient discussion, exposition, and political action.
    — William Clarke.

Fabian

n.
  1. A member of, or sympathizer with, the Fabian Society.