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

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

In a statement, Jones quoted Thomas Jefferson, who said, “ the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

From Los Angeles Times

“If some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out,” Kirk said.

From Salon

In a statement, Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters celebrated Kirk as a “father, husband, and dedicated patriot” before calling on Republicans and Democrats to condemn “this brutality that has no place in America.”

From Salon

Related Words

• superpatriot