Molly Maguire

[muh-gwahyuhr]

noun

1. Irish History.,  a member of a secret terrorist society organized in Ireland in 1843 to prevent evictions by the government: so called because the members disguised themselves as women.

2. U.S. History.,  a member of a former secret association, organized about 1865, that terrorized the mine operators' agents in an effort to get relief from oppressive conditions in the anthracite coal-mining regions of Pennsylvania: ceased to function about 1877.

Molly Maguire

/ ˈmɒlɪ məˈɡwaɪə /

noun

1. Irish history a member of a secret society that terrorized law officers during the 1840s to prevent evictions

2. (in Pennsylvania from about 1865 to 1877) a member of a society of miners that terrorized mine owners and their agents in an effort to obtain better pay

Word History and Origins

Origin of Molly Maguire¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Word History and Origins

Origin of Molly Maguire¹

C19: the name refers to the female disguise adopted by members of these societies