Main Entry: chau·vin·ism

Pronunciation: \ˈshō-və-ˌni-zəm\

Function: noun

Etymology: French chauvinisme, from Nicolas Chauvin, character noted for his excessive patriotism and devotion to Napoleon in Théodore and Hippolyte Cogniard's play La Cocarde tricolore (1831)

Date: 1851

1 : excessive or blind patriotism — compare jingoism
2 : undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which one belongs or has belonged
3 : an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex; also : behavior expressive of such an attitude

— chau·vin·ist \-və-nist\ noun or adjective

— chau·vin·is·tic \ˌshō-və-ˈnis-tik\ adjective

— chau·vin·is·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb