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Glite Dictionary
George Eliot

George Eliot

2 7.0
A name used by the English writer Mary Ann Evans
  • proper noun
  • /ˈdʒɔrdʒ ˈɛliət/
  • Literature
: George Eliot
  • In her books, George Eliot explored complex themes of morality and society.

Examples

  • The Victorian novelist George Eliot is known for her impactful storytelling.

  • Readers appreciated the way George Eliot depicted the struggles of her characters.

  • George Eliot wrote it.

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

Mary Ann Evans
vsGeorge Eliot
1 6.9

A British writer who used the name George Eliot

is the public writing name chosen for publication instead of the personal name

Surface Forms

George Eliot main

Morphology

George + Eliot

This item is a proper name (a pen name) whose referent — the novelist Mary Ann Evans — cannot be derived from the literal constituent names 'George' and 'Eliot'. Knowing those words as personal names gives no clue that this is a pseudonym or the biographical/literary meaning, so a B1 learner would not be able to infer the MWE's meaning from its parts.

Etymology

George Eliot was the 'pen name' of Mary Ann Evans. She used a man's name, George Eliot, so readers and publishers would not judge her for being a woman and would take her books more seriously, so today George Eliot refers to the author Mary Ann Evans and her novels.