sans-culotte

[sanz-kyoo-lot, -koo-; French sahn-ky-lawt]

noun, plural sans-cu·lottes

[sanz-kyoo-lots, -koo-; French sahn-ky-lawt] /ˌsænz kyʊˈlɒts, -kʊ-; French sɑ̃ küˈlɔt/.

(in the French Revolution) a revolutionary of the poorer class: originally a term of contempt applied by the aristocrats but later adopted as a popular name by the revolutionaries.
any extreme republican or revolutionary.

Origin of sans-culotte

1780–90; < French: literally, without knee breeches

Related formssans-cu·lot·tic

[sanz-kyoo-lot-ik, -koo-] /ˌsænz kyʊˈlɒt ɪk, -kʊ-/, adjectivesans-cu·lot·tish, adjectivesans-cu·lot·tism, nounsans-cu·lot·tist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sans-culotte

Historical Examples of sans-culotte

But Boivin was a soldier, and a soldier is not a sans-culotte.
The Historical Nights' Entertainment
Rafael Sabatini
Dr. Mivers was as much scouted as if he had been a sans-culotte.
Lucretia, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
A sans-culotte, who lived near by and whose suspicions had been aroused, followed him one evening.
Which?
Ernest Daudet
"These are all sans-culotte literature, I take it," said his Lordship; but the youth was stupefied and silent.
The Fortunes Of Glencore
Charles James Lever
Clearly the sans-culotte of Brussels was a mere tinsel imitation of the genuine article at Paris.
Belgium
George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond

British Dictionary definitions for sans-culotte

sans-culotte

noun

(during the French Revolution)
1. (originally) a revolutionary of the poorer class
2. (later) any revolutionary, esp one having extreme republican sympathies
any revolutionary extremist

Derived Formssans-culottism, nounsans-culottist, noun

Word Origin for sans-culotte

C18: from French, literally: without knee breeches, because the revolutionaries wore pantaloons or trousers rather than knee breeches

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 sans-culotte

also sansculotte, "lower-class republican of the French Revolution," 1790, from French, literally "without breeches;" see sans + cullotes. Usually explained as referring to the class whose distinctive costume was pantalons (long trousers) as opposed to the upper classes, which wore culottes (knee-breeches), but this is not certain. Related: Sans-culottes; sans-culotterie.