English Explanatory Dictionary

Watsonian

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Resembling or characteristic of the character Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes stories.
  2. From an in-universe perspective; of or relating to an explanation within the text; internal to the narrative.

Pronunciation

/wɒtˈsəʊ.ni.ən/ /wɑtˈsoʊ.ni.ən/

Word forms

Watsonian more Watsonian most Watsonian

Etymology

From Watson + -ian. "In-universe" sense formed in reference to Dr. John Watson, the fictional author within the text of the Sherlock Holmes stories, in contrast to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the real author of the stories. Started in Sherlock Holmes fandom before spreading to other fandoms. Possibly originating in the "Baker Street Irregulars" fan club and entering the science fiction fandom usage (fanspeak) via the Lois McMaster Bujold mailing list.

Synonyms

intradiegetic in-universe Dr. Watsonish Watsonish

Antonyms

Doylist extradiegetic out-of-universe
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on W Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary