Meanings
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1
adj
relating to, produced by, or resembling the action or sound of the wind
Wind passing through the wires produced an aeolian hum.
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2
adj
geology: transported, deposited, shaped, or eroded by wind
Aeolian sand formed long parallel dunes across the desert.
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3
adj
music: relating to the Aeolian mode, the diatonic mode corresponding to the natural minor scale
The melody stays in the aeolian mode until its final cadence.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Aeolus, the Greek god and keeper of the winds, + -ian; this produced the wind and geological senses. Capitalized Aeolian also refers to ancient Aeolis and its people. The musical mode took its learned name from the Greek regional tradition, though the modern mode does not directly reproduce ancient Aeolian music.