partisan
/ˈpɑɹ.tɪ.zən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.81 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A fervent, sometimes militant, supporter or proponent of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea.
noun
A member of a band of detached light, irregular troops acting behind occupying enemy lines in the ways of harassment or sabotage; a guerrilla fighter.
noun
The commander of a body of detached light troops engaged in making forays and harassing an enemy.
Archaic
adj
Adherent to a party or faction; especially, having the character of blind, passionate, or unreasonable adherence to a party.
noun
A long-handled spear with a triangular, double-edged blade having lateral projections, in some forms also used in boar hunting.
Example Sentences
- ""Strong partisans of neither party, Indiana farmers failed to act as a block […]""
- "partisan officer, partisan corps"
- "They were blinded by partisan zeal."
- "Having put partisan interests to one side, Greenwood set about making teamwork a watchword for her chairmanship, while seeking the broadest possible participation in subsequent inquiries."
- "partisan politics"
- "England will regard it as a measure of justice for Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany in Bloemfontein at the 2010 World Cup - but it was also an illustration of how they rode their luck for long periods in front of a predictably partisan home crowd."
Etymology
From French partisan, from Italian partigiano (“defender of a party”), from parte (“part”). Doublet of partigiano. Attested in English from the late 15th century in the noun sense of "party adherent", and in related adjective senses from the 16th century. The "guerrilla fighter" sense influenced by Serbo-Croatian partizan, Russian партиза́н (partizán), from the same source. The sense of "guerrilla fighter" is from c. 1690. The adjective in the military sense dates from the early 18th century.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: partisan, partigiano, partizaine, partigiana
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɑɹ.tɪ.zən/
- British English: /ˈpɑː.tɪˌzæn/
Usage
Inflected Forms
partisans (plural)
partizan (alternative, dated)
more partisan (comparative)
most partisan (superlative)