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.
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Nearby words
ante-christum, ante-mortem, ante-nicene, ante-post, anteater, antebellum, antecede, antecedence, antecedency, antecedent, antecedents
Origin of antebellum
First recorded in 1860–65, antebellum is from the Latin word ante bellum before the war
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Examples from the Web for antebellum
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
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Word Origin and History for antebellum
antebellum
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.