Ghibelline

[ gib-uh-lin, -leen ]

/ ˈgɪb ə lɪn, -ˌlin /

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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.

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Origin of Ghibelline

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

OTHER WORDS FROM Ghibelline

Ghib·el·lin·ism, noun

Words nearby Ghibelline

ghetto, ghetto blaster, ghetto-fabulous, ghettoize, ghettos, Ghibelline, Ghiberti, ghibli, ghillie, Ghiordes, Ghiordes knot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Ghibelline in a sentence

Only Pisa, glorying in the strength of the sea and the splendour of war, was Ghibelline, with Siena on her sunny hills.
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa|Edward Hutton
Pisa was perhaps influenced, too, in her choice of the Ghibelline side by the interference of the Papacy against her in Corsica.
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa|Edward Hutton
If Pisa fell, it was just and right; for that she was Ghibelline, and would not make one with her sisters.
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa|Edward Hutton
The old palace in which the Ghibelline parliament met still stands on the Piazza del Mercato.
Italian Highways and Byways from a Motor Car|Francis Miltoun

We can now understand the Guelf and Ghibelline struggles of the thirteenth century.
Villani's Chronicle|Giovanni Villani

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 forms of Ghibelline

Ghibellinism, 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