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Glite Dictionary
greenbacker

greenbacker

1 9.9
A person who supports the use of paper money not backed by gold
  • noun
  • /ˈɡriːnˌbækər/
  • Archaic
: defensor del papel moneda
  • During his campaign, the candidate proudly identified himself as a greenbacker championing monetary reform.

Examples

  • These greenbackers and Silver Rights opine that such a monetary system would aid in debt relief, especially for distressed farmers.

    4 Presidents (2020)

  • Greenbackers, Georgists, and social creditors alike support some kind of government-supported paper money.

    Blog text (25)

  • In the 19th century, many greenbackers fought for the right to use paper money instead of gold coins.

  • The greenbackers believed that issuing paper money would help farmers struggling with debt.

Surface Forms

greenbacker singular
greenbackers plural

Morphology

greenbacker = greenback (semi-transparent) = green + back + er

The agentive suffix '-er' is clear, but the base word 'greenback' is a historical term for paper money and is not self-explanatory to many learners.

Etymology

Greenbacker comes from greenback, a name for the US paper bill with a green 'back', and the ending -er that means a person. So a greenbacker was someone, especially in 19th-century US history, who supported using paper money that was not backed by gold.