chauvinism English · revision 2472

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈʃəʊ.vɪ.nɪ.zəm/ ''(UK)''; /ˈʃoʊ.vɪˌnɪzəm/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|chauvinisme]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) named after Nicolas Chauvin, a soldier famous for his devotion to Napoleon.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) Chauvin was popularized as a character in the Cogniard brothers' vaudeville ''La Cocarde tricolore'' (1831);^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Etymonline notes that no real soldier behind the character has been firmly identified.^(Etymonline) The surname is a French form of Latin ''Calvinus''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Exaggerated, warlike patriotism (1840 in Etymonline; 1870 in the OED and Barnhart).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Chauvin's devotion to the Emperor was at first admired and later ridiculed after Napoleon's fall.^(Barnhart 1995) In the late 19th century the word was extended to excessive belief in the superiority of one's own race or group,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in the late 1960s, through ''male chauvinist'', to prejudice against women.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1840 – exaggerated nationalism (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1870 – bellicose patriotism, with the noun ''chauvinist''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1955 – excessive loyalty to one's own group or cause.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 1960s – male prejudice against women, via ''male chauvinist''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Fanatical, aggressive patriotism.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own group, cause or kind.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An attitude of superiority towards the opposite sex.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chauvinist]]

+ * [[chauvinistic]]

+ * [[chauvinistically]]

+ * [[male chauvinism]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[jingoism]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}