Luddite

[luhd-ahyt]

noun

a member of any of various bands of workers in England (1811–16) organized to destroy manufacturing machinery, under the belief that its use diminished employment.

someone who is opposed or resistant to new technologies or technological change.

Origin of Luddite

1805–15; after Ned Ludd, 18th-century Leicestershire worker who originated the idea; see -ite¹

Related formsLud·dism, Lud·dit·ism, noun

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

Examples from the Web for luddites

Contemporary Examples of luddites

Graedon comes down firmly on the side of the luddites, but her vision of the future is less alarmist than alarmingly within reach.
This Week’s Hot Reads: April 21, 2014
Thomas Flynn
April 22, 2014
Paul Krugman has a column today on a topic you don't normally get much of from economists: sympathy for the Luddites.
When Work Disappears
Megan McArdle
June 14, 2013

Historical Examples of luddites

The attitude of the Luddites had become more openly threatening.
Through the Fray
G. A. Henty
The Luddites, who commenced breaking up machinery in manufacturing towns in 1811, again committed great excesses.
Lord John Russell
Stuart J. Reid
In April, seven members of the so-called society of Luddites were hanged at Leicester for breaking labor-saving machinery.
A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year
Edwin Emerson
In November many Luddites were convicted, and sixteen were executed by sentence of a special commission sitting at York.
The Political History of England - Vol XI
George Brodrick
Bill had dropped in, and they sat talking of the doings of the Luddites till it was later than usual.
Through the Fray
G. A. Henty

British Dictionary definitions for luddites

Luddite

noun English history

any of the textile workers opposed to mechanization who rioted and organized machine-breaking between 1811 and 1816

any opponent of industrial change or innovation

adjective

of or relating to the Luddites

Derived FormsLuddism, noun

Word Origin for Luddite

C19: alleged to be named after Ned Ludd, an 18th-century Leicestershire workman, who destroyed industrial machinery

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 luddites

Luddite

also luddite, 1811, from name taken by an organized band of weavers who destroyed machinery in Midlands and northern England 1811-16 for fear it would deprive them of work. Supposedly from Ned Ludd, a Leicestershire worker who in 1779 had done the same before through insanity (but that story first was told in 1847). Applied to modern rejecters of automation and technology from at least 1961. As an adjective from 1812.

luddites in Culture

Luddites

[(lud-eyets)]

Opponents of the introduction of labor-saving machinery. The original Luddites, followers of a legendary Ned Ludd, were British laborers of the early nineteenth century who smashed textile-making machines that threatened their jobs.

Note

Contemporary opponents of technological change are sometimes called “Luddites.”