🇺🇸 US party member 🗽 Revolution supporter 🇬🇧 British reformer

Whig

9.6

A person in the American colonies who supports independence from British rule

noun
/wɪg/

: whig

The Whig leaders played a crucial role in the American Revolution.

Examples

Several leading Whigs gathered to plan the next steps of the revolution.
Many Whigs opposed the British taxation policies.
As a proud Whig, he argued fervently for the colonies' independence.
Her grandfather was a devoted Whig who fought against British rule.
As a proud Whig, he argued fervently for the colonies' independence.
Her grandfather was a devoted Whig who fought against British rule.
Many Whigs opposed the British taxation policies.

Compounds

Whig Party

1 7.9

A former American political party from 1834 to 1854 that opposed the Democrats and supported high taxes on imported goods

Surface Forms

Whig singular

Whigs plural

Etymology

Whig comes from a Scottish word whiggamore, from whiggam, a shout used to 'urge on' horses and cattle, so it first named a rough rider or rebel. Colonists who fought British rule were called Whigs because they were seen as rebels who wanted independence.