Whiteboys

American  

[hwahyt-boiz, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˌbɔɪz, ˈwaɪt- /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. a secret agrarian peasant organization, active in Ireland during the early 1760s, whose members wore white shirts for recognition on their night raids to destroy crops, barns, and other property in redressing grievances against landlords and protesting the paying of tithes.

---

Etymology

Origin of Whiteboys

white + boy + -s ³

Example Sentences

The worst feature in this case was the danger to be apprehended from Foodie Flattery's disclosures, should he take it into his head to 'peach upon his brother Whiteboys.

From Phelim Otoole's Courtship and Other Stories Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of William Carleton, Volume Three by Carleton, William

Before the Nationalists we had the Fenians, the Whiteboys, the Ribbon-men, the United Irishmen, the Defenders, the goodness-knows-what, running back in continuous line up to the dawn of history.

From Ireland as It Is And as It Would be Under Home Rule by Buckley, Robert John

He then gave her a brief account of the rencounter he had with the Whiteboys, and alluded to the unknown but friendly individual who had put him on his guard.

From The Tithe-Proctor The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two by Carleton, William

To this our friend judiciously avoided making any reply, the fact being that several individuals in high trust among these Whiteboys were occasionally employed to sound suspected persons, in order to test their sincerity.

From The Tithe-Proctor The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two by Carleton, William

The writer shows that the agrarian outrages of the Whiteboys were caused by distress, and quotes a speech Lord Northumberland to the same effect.—Com.

From An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800 by Cusack, Mary Frances