Jacobin

noun Jac·o·bin \ ˈja-kə-bən \

Definition of Jacobin

1 : dominican

[French, from Jacobin Dominican; from the group's founding in the Dominican convent in Paris]

: a member of an extremist or radical political group; especially : a member of such a group advocating egalitarian democracy and engaging in terrorist activities during the French Revolution of 1789

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Jacobinic

play \ˌja-kə-ˈbi-nik\ or Jacobinical play \ˌja-kə-ˈbi-ni-kəl\ adjective

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Jacobinism

play \ˈja-kə-bə-ˌni-zəm\ noun

Origin and Etymology of jacobin

Middle English, from Anglo-French jacopin, from Medieval Latin Jacobinus, from Late Latin Jacobus (St. James); from the location of the first Dominican convent in the street of St. James, Paris

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year