Jacobin

[ jak-uh-bin ]
/ ˈdʒæk ə bɪn /

noun

(in the French Revolution) a member of a radical society or club of revolutionaries that promoted the Reign of Terror and other extreme measures, active chiefly from 1789 to 1794: so called from the Dominican convent in Paris, where they originally met.
an extreme radical, especially in politics.
a Dominican friar.
(lowercase) one of a fancy breed of domestic pigeons having neck feathers that hang over the head like a hood.

Origin of Jacobin

1275–1325; Middle English Jacobin < Old French ( frere) jacobin < Medieval Latin ( frater) Jacōbinus. See Jacob, -in1

OTHER WORDS FROM Jacobin

Jac·o·bin·ic, Jac·o·bin·i·cal, adjective Jac·o·bin·ism, noun

Example sentences from the Web for jacobin

British Dictionary definitions for jacobin

Jacobin
/ (ˈdʒækəbɪn) /

noun

a member of the most radical club founded during the French Revolution, which overthrew the Girondists in 1793 and, led by Robespierre, instituted the Reign of Terror
a leftist or extreme political radical
a French Dominican friar
(sometimes not capital) a variety of fancy pigeon with a hood of feathers swept up over and around the head

adjective

of, characteristic of, or relating to the Jacobins or their policies

Derived forms of Jacobin

Jacobinic or Jacobinical, adjective Jacobinically, adverb Jacobinism, noun

Word Origin for Jacobin

C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin Jacōbīnus, from Late Latin Jacōbus James; applied to the Dominicans, from the proximity of the church of St Jacques (St James) to their first convent in Paris; the political club originally met in the convent in 1789