Ghibelline

[ gib-uh-lin, -leen ]

/ ˈgɪb ə lɪn, -ˌlin /

noun

a member of the aristocratic party in medieval Italy and Germany that supported the claims of the German emperors against the papacy: politically opposed to the Guelphs.

adjective

of or relating to the Ghibellines.

Origin of Ghibelline

1565–75; < Italian Ghibellino < Middle High German *wībeling- (German Waiblingen) a Hohenstaufen estate in Germany

Related formsGhib·el·lin·ism, noun

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

Examples from the Web for ghibelline

Florence, therefore, was Guelf at that time, and Siena of course was Ghibelline.
Notes and Queries, Number 176, March 12, 1853|Various
Thereupon all the Ghibelline chiefs met in council at Empoli to arrange what was to be done.
The Two First Centuries of Florentine History|Pasquale Villari
In the struggles of that time it was generally on the Ghibelline side.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6|Various
The Pepoli Palace has some old brickwork and a Ghibelline battlement of unusually picturesque outline.
Brick and Marble in the Middle Ages|George Edmund Street

Sienna, Arezzo, and Pistoia inclined more or less openly to the Ghibelline side.
The Two First Centuries of Florentine History|Pasquale Villari

British Dictionary definitions for ghibelline

Ghibelline

/ (ˈɡɪbɪˌlaɪn, -ˌliːn) /

noun

a member of the political faction in medieval Italy originally based on support for the German emperor

(modifier) of or relating to the GhibellinesCompare Guelph 1

Derived FormsGhibellinism, noun

Word Origin for Ghibelline

C16: from Italian Ghibellino, probably from Middle High German Waiblingen, a Hohenstaufen estate

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 ghibelline

Ghibelline

adherent of the emperor in medieval Italy, 1570s, from German Waiblingen, seat of the Hohenstaufens in Württemberg. The name was said to have been used as a rallying cry by partisans of Conrad III at the Battle of Weinsberg (1140). See Guelph.