a. [Two forms: (1) ad. Luculliānus, f. Lucull-us (see -IAN); (2) f. L. Lucullē-us + -AN.] Pertaining to or characteristic of L. Licinius Lucullus, a Roman famous for his wealth and the profuse luxury of his banquets. † Lucullean marble (trans. L. marmor Luculleum): some kind of black marble; by mineralogists of the 18th c. identified with the mineral now called lucullite or anthracoxenite.
1601. Holland, Pliny, II. 572. Consull L. Lucullus … gaue the name to Lucullean marble … he brought it first to Rome, and had a speciall fancy thereto, notwithstanding it were black.
1842. W. Smith, Dict. Gr. & Rom. Antiq. s.v. House, Roman, 494. Columns of black marble, called Lucullean, thirty-eight feet high.
1892. K. Gould, trans. Conversat. Döllinger, i. 8. The display, the Lucullian feast, and the introduction of the bride are merely intended to present forcibly to one’s mind what the priest is called on to renounce.
1897. Daily News, 21 Oct., 7/7. To draw company to the house to entertain her he gave Lucullian banquets.
