- faction
- 1509, from L. factionem (nom. factio) "political party, class of persons," lit. "a making or doing," from facere "to do" (see factitious). In ancient Rome, "one of the companies of contractors for the chariot races in the circus."
- Girondist
- 1795, member of the moderate republican party of France, 1791-93, from Gironde, a deputy in southwestern France; the faction so called because its leaders were deputies elected from there.
- Hasidim
- 1812, adherents of a conservative Jewish religious movement founded 1750 by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer Baal Shem Tobh, from Heb. hasidhim, lit. "pious ones," pl. of hasidh "kind, pious." Earlier used in Heb. of adherents of an anti-Hellenistic faction during the time of the Maccabean Wars.
- factious
- 1532, from M.Fr. factieux, from L. factiosus "inclined to form parties," from factionem (see faction).
- menshevik
- 1917, from Rus. men'shevik, from men'she "lesser" (comp. of malo "little," from PIE base *men- "to lessen, diminish") + -evik "one that is." So called by Lenin because they were a minority in the party. Earlier used in ref. to the minority faction of the Social-Democratic Party, when it split in 1903. Russian pl. mensheviki occasionally was used in Eng.
- loco foco
- "self-igniting cigar or match," 1839 (but presumably older), Amer.Eng., of unknown origin, perhaps from a misapprehension of the meaning of the first element of locomotive as "self-" + Sp. fuego "fire." During one heated political meeting in N.Y., the lights went out and the delegates used such matches to relight them, thence the name loco-foco entered U.S. political jargon (1837), usually applied to a radical faction of the Democratic Party, but by the Whigs applied to all Democrats.
- partisan (n.)
- 1555, "one who takes part with another, zealous supporter," from M.Fr. partisan (15c.), from dial. upper It. partezan (Tuscan partigiano) "member of a faction, partner," from parte "part, party," from L. partem (nom. pars), see part (n.). Sense of "guerilla fighter" is first recorded 1692. The adj. is 1708 for warfare, 1842 for politics.
- regency
- 1429, from M.L. regentia, from L. regens (see regent). Notable instances were: France 1715-23 (under Philip, Duke of Orleans), Britain 1810-20 (under George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent), "in each case with suggestion of debauchery" [Weekley]. In ref. to the style of that time, attested from 1880 (there is an unexplained use in Jane Austen from 1793). Cf. Fr. equivalent Régence, attested in Eng. from 1919. U.S. Albany Regency refers to dominant political faction in New York state c.1820-1850.
- Shiite
- 1728, "a member of the Shia sect of Islam," from Shiah (1626) from Arabic shi'ah "partisans, followers, sect, company, faction" (from sha'a "to follow") + -ite, Latin-derived suffix denoting "follower." Follower of the branch of Islam that recognizes Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, as the lawful successor of the Prophet; the minority who believed, after the death of the Prophet, that spiritual and political authority followed his family line, as opposed to the Sunni, who took Abu Bakr as the political leader of the community. The Arabic name is short for Shi'at Ali "the party of Ali."
- Bolshevik
- 1917, from Rus. bol'shiy "greater," comp. of adj. bol'shoy "big, great" (cf. Bolshoi Ballet), from O.C.S. boljiji "larger," from PIE base *bel- "strong" (cf. Skt. balam "strength, force," Gk. beltion "better," Phrygian balaios "big, fast," O.Ir. odbal "strong," Welsh balch "proud;" M.Du., Low Ger., Fris. pal "strong, firm"). It was the faction of Russian Social Democratic Worker's Party after a split in 1903 that was either larger or more extreme (or both) than the Mensheviks (from Rus. men'shij "less"); after they seized power in 1917, applied generally to Rus. communists. Bolshevism is recorded from 1917.
- ticket
- 1528, "short note or document," from an aphetic form of M.Fr. etiquet "label, note," from O.Fr. estiquette "a little note" (1387), especially one affixed to a gate or wall as a public notice, from estiquer "to affix, stick," from Frank. *stikkan, cognate with O.E. stician "to pierce" (see stick (v.)). Meaning "card or piece of paper that gives its holder a right or privilege" is first recorded 1673, probably developing from the sense of "certificate, license, permit." The political sense of "list of candidates put forward by a faction" has been used in Amer.Eng. since 1711. The verb is first recorded 1611. Meaning "official notification of offense" is from 1930; parking ticket first attested 1947. Big ticket item is from 1970. Slang the ticket "just the thing, what is expected" is recorded from 1838, perhaps with notion of a winning lottery ticket.
- conservative
- as a modern political tradition, conservatism traces to Edmund Burke's opposition to the Fr. Revolution (1790), but the word conservative is not found in his writing. It was coined by his Fr. disciples, (e.g. Chateaubriand, who titled his journal defending clerical and political restoration "Le Conservateur"). Conservative as the name of a British political faction it first appeared in an 1830 issue of the "Quarterly Review," in an unsigned article sometimes attributed to John Wilson Croker. It replaced Tory (q.v.) by 1843, reflecting both a change from the pejorative name (in use for 150 years) and repudiation of some reactionary policies. Extended to similar spirits in other parties from 1845.
"Strictly speaking, conservatism is not a political system, but rather a way of looking at the civil order. The conservative of Peru ... will differ greatly from those of Australia, for though they may share a preference for things established, the institutions and customs which they desire to preserve are not identical." [Russell Kirk (1918-1994)]
Phrases such as a conservative estimate make no sense etymologically. - diversity
- mid-14c., "quality of being diverse," mostly in a neutral sense, from O.Fr. diversité (12c.) "difference, diversity, unique feature, oddness:" also "wickedness, perversity," from L. diversitatem "contrariety, contradiction, disagreement;" also, as a secondary sense, "difference, diversity" from diversus "turned different ways," in L.L. "various," pp. of divertere (see divert). Negative meaning, "being contrary to what is agreeable or right; perversity, evil" existed in English from late 15c. but was obsolete from 17c. Diversity as a virtue in a nation is an idea from the rise of modern democracies in the 1790s, where it kept one faction from arrogating all power (but this was not quite the modern sense, as ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, etc. was not the matter in mind):
"The dissimilarity in the ingredients which will compose the national government, and still more in the manner in which they will be brought into action in its various branches, must form a powerful obstacle to a concert of views in any partial scheme of elections. There is sufficient diversity in the state of property, in the genius, manners, and habits of the people of the different parts of the Union, to occasion a material diversity of disposition in their representatives towards the different ranks and conditions in society." ["Federalist" #60, Feb. 26, 1788 (Hamilton)]
Specific focus (in a positive sense) on race, gender, etc. is from 1992. - line (n.)
- from O.E. line "rope, row of letters," and from O.Fr. ligne, both from L. linea "linen thread, string, line," from phrase linea restis "linen cord," from fem. of lineus (adj.) "of linen," from linum "linen" (see linen). Oldest sense is "rope, cord, string;" extended 1382 to "a thread-like mark" (from sense "cord used by builders for making things level," 1340), also "track, course, direction." Sense of "things or people arranged in a straight line" is from 1557. That of "cord bearing hooks used in fishing" is from c.1300. Meaning "one's occupation, branch of business" is from 1638, probably from misunderstood KJV translation of 2 Cor. x.16, "And not to boast in another mans line of things made ready to our hand," where line translates Gk. kanon, lit. "measuring rod." Meaning "class of goods in stock" is from 1834. Meaning "telegraph wire" is from 1847 (later "telephone wire"), hence lineman (1858). Meaning "policy or set of policies of a political faction" is 1892, Amer.Eng., from notion of a procession of followers; this is the sense in party line. In British army, the Line (1802) is the regular, numbered troops, as distinguished from guards and auxiliaries. In the Navy (1704, e.g. ship of the line) it refers to the battle line. Lines "words of an actor's part" is from 1882. Lines of communication were originally transverse trenches in seigeworks. The baseball line-up (1889) is older than the police version (1907).