Fa"bi*an (?), a. [L. Fabianus, Fabius, belonging to Fabius.]
Of, pertaining to, or in the manner of, the Roman general, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus; cautious; dilatory; avoiding a decisive contest.
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.
© Webster 1913
Fa"bi*an (?), n.
A member of, or sympathizer with, the Fabian Society.
© Webster 1913
Fa"bi*an, 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.
© Webster 1913