whig

[ hwig, wig ]

/ ʰwɪg, wɪg /

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verb (used without object), whigged, whig·ging.Scot.

to move along briskly.

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Origin of whig

1660–70; perhaps Scots variant of dial. fig to move briskly; see fidget

Words nearby whig

whiffet, whiffle, whiffler, whiffletree, whiffy, whig, Whiggish, Whiggism, whigmaleerie, whigmaleery, Whig party

Other definitions for whig (2 of 2)

Whig

[ hwig, wig ]

/ ʰwɪg, wɪg /

noun

American History.

a member of the patriotic party during the Revolutionary period; supporter of the Revolution.
a member of a political party (c1834–1855) that was formed in opposition to the Democratic Party, and favored economic expansion and a high protective tariff, while opposing the strength of the presidency in relation to the legislature.

British Politics.

a member of a major political party (1679–1832) in Great Britain that held liberal principles and favored reforms: later called the Liberal party.
(in later use) one of the more conservative members of the Liberal party.

adjective

being a Whig.

of, relating to, or characteristic of the Whigs.

Origin of Whig

1635–45; earlier, a Covenanter, hence an opponent of the accession of James II; of uncertain origin, though probably in part a shortening of whiggamaire (later whiggamore), a participant in the Whiggamore Raid a march against the royalists in Edinburgh launched by Covenanters in 1648 (said to represent whig to spur on (cf. whig) + mairemare¹)

OTHER WORDS FROM Whig

pro-Whig, adjective

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

How to use whig in a sentence

To him, Churchill “was radical precisely because he was conservative” and “essentially a buccaneering Victorian Whig.”
Boris Johnson’s Churchill Man Crush|Michael F. Bishop|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The party splinters, and out of the wreckage a new center-right “Whig Party” emerges.
How the Tea Party’s Apocalyptic Politics Are Destroying the Republican Party|Joe McLean|November 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For the first time in a century and a half, the Whig Party has successfully elected a candidate.
Whigs Win For First Time In 150 Years|Ben Jacobs|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
No, not the GOP, but the Whig Party, the original party of Lincoln.
Whigs Win For First Time In 150 Years|Ben Jacobs|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Other members of Whig-Clio have included Aaron Burr, Woodrow Wilson, Samuel Alito, and Mitch Daniels.
Ted Cruz at Princeton: Creepy, Sometimes Well Liked, and Exactly the Same|Patricia Murphy|August 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Does the experience of the last ten years justify the country in placing confidence, on such a point, in a Whig Ministry?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The paper war was almost entirely carried on between two sections of the Whig party.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
Since his return from exile, his influence had been generally exerted in favour of the Whig party.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
But the Whig chiefs were not men to be duped by the professions of so notorious a liar.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
Vernon was a zealous Whig, and not personally unacceptable to the chiefs of his party.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay

British Dictionary definitions for whig

Whig

/ (wɪɡ) /

noun

a member of the English political party or grouping that opposed the succession to the throne of James, Duke of York, in 1679–80 on the grounds that he was a Catholic. Standing for a limited monarchy, the Whigs represented the great aristocracy and the moneyed middle class for the next 80 years. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Whigs represented the desires of industrialists and Dissenters for political and social reform. The Whigs provided the core of the Liberal Party

(in the US) a supporter of the War of American IndependenceCompare Tory

a member of the American political party that opposed the Democrats from about 1834 to 1855 and represented propertied and professional interests

a conservative member of the Liberal Party in Great Britain

a person who advocates and believes in an unrestricted laissez-faire economy

history a 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian, esp one in rebellion against the Crown

adjective

of, characteristic of, or relating to Whigs

Derived forms of Whig

Whiggery or Whiggism, nounWhiggish, adjectiveWhiggishly, adverbWhiggishness, noun

Word Origin for Whig

C17: probably shortened from whiggamore, one of a group of 17th-century Scottish rebels who joined in an attack on Edinburgh known as the whiggamore raid; probably from Scottish whig to drive (of obscure origin) + more, mer, maire horse, mare 1

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