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Glite Dictionary
🏛️ A London area 🏛️ A government model
Westminster

Westminster

5.9
A system of government from the UK where the prime minister and cabinet must keep parliament's support
  • noun
  • /ˈwɛstˌmɪnstər/
: sistema de Westminster
  • The UK follows the Westminster system, where the Prime Minister is chosen from the elected Parliament.

The final stark institutional change is that of formal peacetime coalition at Westminster.

Examples

  • Many countries have adopted the Westminster model to establish their own parliamentary democracies.

  • The political leaders discussed reforms to improve the Westminster system's accountability to the voters.

  • That medal, sir, I got for jumping off the westminster bridge.

    Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)

Synonyms

parliamentary democracy
vsWestminster
  • Specialized
3 4.2

A system where parliament chooses and controls the government

is the UK model emphasizing government formed from and accountable to elected bodies
parliamentarianism
vsWestminster
8.2

A system where elected representatives make and run the government

is the UK-origin model more widely used as a template by countries

Compounds

Westminster Abbey
5 3.4

A large, famous church in London where kings and queens are crowned and important people are buried

City of Westminster
3.4

A part of central London along the River Thames with landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey

Palace of Westminster
3.7

A large historic building in London where Parliament meets

Westminster bubble
  • Literature
8.8

A group of politicians and journalists cut off from ordinary people and their problems

Surface Forms

Westminster singular
Westminsters plural

Morphology

Westminster = west + minster (opaque) = west + minster

This political sense is a metonymic extension from the place name and cannot be derived from the literal components by typical learners.

Etymology

Westminster as a political term is named after the place Westminster, where Britain's Parliament meets. So a 'Westminster system' is a style of government that follows the UK model, where the government is formed from and answers to an elected parliament.