Tory
(ˈtɔːrɪ) n,
pl -ries1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada
2. (Historical Terms) a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s
3. (Historical Terms) an American supporter of the British cause; loyalist. Compare
Whig 4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (sometimes not capital) an ultraconservative or reactionary
5. (Historical Terms) (in the 17th century) an Irish Roman Catholic, esp an outlaw who preyed upon English settlers
adj6. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) of, characteristic of, or relating to Tories
7. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (sometimes not capital) ultraconservative or reactionary
[C17: from Irish tōraidhe outlaw, from Middle Irish tōir pursuit]
ˈToryish adj
ˈToryism n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
To•ry
(ˈtɔr i, ˈtoʊr i)
n., pl. -ries,
adj. n. 1. a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.
2. a member of a British political party formed in the late 17th century, favoring royal authority and opposing reform: succeeded by the Conservative Party about 1832.
3. (often l.c.) an advocate of conservative principles.
4. a person who supported the British cause in the American Revolution; a loyalist.
5. (in the 17th century) one of a class of dispossessed Irish, nominally royalists, who became outlaws.
adj. 6. of, belonging to, or characteristic of the Tories.
7. being a Tory.
8. (often l.c.) conservative.
[1640–50; < Irish *tóraighe outlaw, bandit, derivative of tóir chase, pursuit]
To′ry•ism, n.
-tory1
, a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, orig. adjectival derivatives of agent nouns ending in
-tor (
predatory); also forming adjectival derivatives directly from verbs (
obligatory).
[< Latin -tōrius]
-tory2
, a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, usu. derivatives from agent nouns ending in
-tor or directly from verbs, denoting a place or object appropriate for the activity of the verb:
dormitory; repository. [< Latin
-tōrium, n. use of neuter of
-tōrius -tory1]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.