Whig

See also: whig

English

Etymology

From Whiggamore, possibly from Scots whiggamore (“horse driver”), from whig (“to drive”) + mare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʍɪɡ/, /wɪɡ/; enPR: hwĭg, wĭg
• Rhymes: -ɪɡ
• Homophones: whig, wig (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

Noun

Whig (plural Whigs)

1. (UK politics) a member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party in Britain that was opposed to the Tories, and eventually became the Liberal Party.
2. (US politics) an advocate of war against Britain during the American Revolution.
3. (US politics) a member of a 19th-century US political party opposed to the Democratic Party.

Derived terms

• Whiggery
• Whiggish
• Whiggishness

Translations

a member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party

• Danish: whig c

• Finnish: whig (fi)
• German: Whig (de) m

See also

• (UK): Tory
• (US): Federalist
• (UK): LibDem, Labour
• Grit