antebellum

[ an-tee-bel-uh m ]

/ ˈæn tiˈbɛl əm /

adjective

before or existing before a war, especially the American Civil War; prewar: the antebellum plantations of Georgia.

RELATED WORDS

prewar

Nearby words

Origin of antebellum

First recorded in 1860–65, antebellum is from the Latin word ante bellum before the war

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for antebellum

I know Tom Woods is an intriguing writer, and I too love my liberty, but this is no longer the antebellum era.
Rand Paul and Nullification|Justin Green|January 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If Republicans stand for crude force, and Democrats for antebellum sentimentality, both are doomed together.
Psycho-Phone Messages|Francis Grierson
It is as handsome as their splendid plate of antebellum days, which was destroyed by fire.
Ainslee's magazine, Volume 16, No. 3, October, 1905|Various
Here the author shows that Astoria was included in the antebellum conditions of the Treaty of Ghent.
The Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume V, 1914|Various

In most of the antebellum state banking laws reserves were required only against note issue.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
As the antebellum period of the fifties came on these questions loomed larger in the public view.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 4, 1919|Various

British Dictionary definitions for antebellum

antebellum

/ (ˌæntɪˈbɛləm) /

adjective

of or during the period before a war, esp the American Civil Warthe antebellum South

Word Origin for antebellum

Latin ante bellum, literally: before the war

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for antebellum

antebellum

adj.

also ante-bellum, from Latin phrase ante bellum, literally "before the war;" see ante- + bellicose. In U.S., usually in reference to the American Civil War (1861-65); first attested in a June 14, 1862, entry in Mary Chesnut's diary.

Culture definitions for antebellum

antebellum

[ (an-tee-bel-uhm) ]

A descriptive term for objects and institutions, especially houses, that originated three or four decades before the Civil War. Antebellum is Latin for “before the war.”