Fa|bi|an

Fa|bi|an «FAY bee uhn», adjective, noun.

–adj.

1. using stratagem and delay to wear out an opponent; cautious; slow: »

By recognizably Fabian tactics, then, socialism has recaptured Labour (Canadian Saturday Night).

2. of the Fabian Society: »

He gave hundreds of lectures, at least as much for Shavian as for Fabian causes (New Yorker).

–n.

a member of or sympathizer with the Fabian Society.

╂[< Latin Fabiānus of the family of Quintus Fabius Maximus, Roman general and statesman, surnamed Cunctator (Delayer), who sought to wear out the enemy (Hannibal) by harassing tactics without risking a decisive battle]