patriot

[pey-tree-uht, -ot, pa-tree-uht]

noun

1. a person who loves, supports, and defends their country and its interests with devotion.

2. a person who values individual rights, especially one who attempts to defend those rights against presumed interference by the federal government.

3. Military.,  Patriot, a U.S. Army antiaircraft missile with a range of 37 miles (60 kilometers) and a 200-pound (90-kilogram) warhead, launched from a tracked vehicle with radar and computer guidance and fire control.

Patriot

¹

/ ˈpeɪtrɪət /

noun

1. a US surface-to-air missile system with multiple launch stations and the capability to track multiple targets by radar

patriot

²

/ ˈpeɪtrɪət, ˌpætrɪˈɒtɪk, ˈpæt- /

noun

1. a person who vigorously supports his country and its way of life

Other Word Forms

• antipatriot noun
• semipatriot noun
• patriotically adverb
• patriotic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of patriot¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French patriote, from Late Latin patriōta, from Greek patriṓtēs “fellow-countryman, lineage member (in the paternal line)”

Word History and Origins

Origin of patriot¹

C16: via French from Late Latin patriōta, from Greek patriotēs, from patris native land; related to Greek patēr father; compare Latin pater father, patria fatherland

Example Sentences

Unusually for the Lib Dems, they have gone out of their way to claim that they are the true patriots, in contrast to Farage, who they have dubbed a "plastic patriot".

From BBC

"I can only too easily see some vigilante patriots stopping people and demanding to see their ID and saying 'I am not carrying it or I don't have it' would no longer be an excuse."

From BBC

The Liberal Democrats are going all out this week to claim that they are the true patriots, in contrast to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who they have dubbed a "plastic patriot".

From BBC

When Democrats like Barack Obama and Joe Biden were in office, these people waved their pocket Constitutions and wrapped themselves in the American flag as “patriots” and “defenders of individual rights and liberties.”

From Salon

They were hanged without trial by patriot militia.

From Salon

Related Words

• superpatriot