royalist

Etymology

It is probably partly formed from English royal + -ist,^[1][2][3][4] and partly borrowed from Middle French royaliste, recorded as a noun from 1589 and as an adjective in Cotgrave (1611).^[1] The Shorter Oxford takes it as formed from royal and -ist, perhaps after the French word.^[5] The French word is itself formed from royal and -iste.^[1] Johnson derived it from royal.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A supporter of a monarch or of a monarch's rights: 1605, in Edwin Sandys's Relation of the State of Religion.^[1] Etymonline dates the word to the 1640s and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to 1640,^[2][3] and Dictionary.com to 1635–45.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word was used above all in times of civil war, rebellion or secession.^[1][2] In England it named the partisans of Charles I against Parliament from 1642, the Cavaliers, opposed to the Parliamentarians.^[1][3][2] In America it was used from 1777 of supporters of the British government during the Revolution, and in France of the supporters of the Bourbons.^[1][2][3] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as an adherent to a king, quoting Waller on the Civil War,^[6] and Webster (1828) gave the same definition.^[7] The adjective is recorded from 1680, in Richard Baxter.^[1][3] In the 20th century the word was also used, informally, of an extreme reactionary, especially a powerful businessman.^[8][3] A use for a member of the Royal Academy is recorded only in 1841.^[1]

Timeline

• 1605 – a supporter of a monarch or of the monarchy.^[1]
• 1642 – a supporter of Charles I against Parliament in the English Civil War.^[1] Etymonline dates the word to the 1640s.^[2]
• 1680 – adjective, relating to royalists.^[1][3]
• 1777 – a supporter of the British cause in the American Revolution.^[1]
• 1841 – a member of the Royal Academy (obsolete).^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. A supporter of a monarch or of monarchy as a system of government; a monarchist.^[8][3][1]
2. (history) A supporter of Charles I against parliament in the English Civil War; a Cavalier, often capitalised.^[8][3][1]
3. (history) A supporter of the British government during the American Revolution; a Tory.^[3][1]
4. A supporter of the Bourbon dynasty in France.^[3][2]
5. (informal) An extreme reactionary, especially a powerful tycoon.^[8][3]

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or typical of royalists or royalism.^[8][3][1]

Word family

• royalism
• royalistic
• nonroyalist
• ultraroyalist

Related words

• royal

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
7. ^ Webster, Noah (1828), An American Dictionary of the English Language, New York: S. Converse
8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins