whig

¹ American  

[hwig, wig] / ʰwɪg, wɪg /

verb (used without object)

Scot.

whigged, whigging

1. to move along briskly.

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Whig ² American  

[hwig, wig] / ʰwɪg, wɪg /

noun

1. American History.

   1. a member of the patriotic party during the Revolutionary period; supporter of the Revolution.

   2. 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.

2. British Politics.

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

   2. (in later use) one of the more conservative members of the Liberal party.

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adjective

1. being a Whig.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Whigs.

Whig British  

/ wɪɡ /

noun

1. 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

2. (in the US) a supporter of the War of American Independence Compare Tory

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

4. a conservative member of the Liberal Party in Great Britain

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

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

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adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to Whigs

Other Word Forms

• Whiggery noun
• Whiggish adjective
• Whiggishly adverb
• Whiggishness noun
• anti-Whig adjective
• pro-Whig adjective

Etymology

Origin of whig¹

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

Origin of Whig²

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 ( whig ) + maire mare ¹ )

Example Sentences

“It has aptly been observed that Cato was the Tory-Cæsar, the whig of his day,” Hamilton wrote.

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2018

It shows Bach in his early sixties, dressed in formal clothing and a whig as was customary at the time, holding a sheet of music.

From US News • Apr. 29, 2015

On Thursday of every week there comes to him an irresistible urge to don whig and monocle.

From Time Magazine Archive

The leading-edge flaps that were extended from the front of the whig to supply extra lift on takeoff may have been struck and damaged by the engine.

From Time Magazine Archive

And in fact the terms of whig and tory belong to natural as well as to civil history.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis