Whig (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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verb (used without object), whigged, whig·ging.Scot.
  1. to move along briskly.
noun
  1. 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.
  2. 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
  1. being a Whig.
  2. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Whigs.
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
  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. a 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian, esp one in rebellion against the Crown
adjective
  1. of, characteristic of, or relating to Whigs
Whig (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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