fifth column
noun
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Fifth column, a translation of the Spanish quinta columna, was inspired by a boast by rebel general Emilio Mola during the Spanish Civil War. Mola predicted Madrid would fall as four columns of rebel troops approaching the city were joined by another hidden column of sympathizers within it. In an October 1936 article in The New York Times, William Carney described those secret rebel supporters as the "fifth column," and English speakers seized upon the term. It gained widespread popularity after Ernest Hemingway used it in the title of a 1938 book, and it was often applied (along with derivative forms such as "fifth columnism" and "fifth columnist") to Nazi supporters within foreign nations during World War II.
Examples of fifth column in a Sentence
Peter C. Baker, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
But people born in China or of Chinese descent should not be categorically treated as a fifth column in the United States; the diaspora has been a hotbed for resistance, which is precisely why the Chinese Communist Party is so bent on monitoring and intimidating it.
—Jessica Chen Weiss, Foreign Affairs, 16 Sep. 2024
For much of history, governments have mostly dealt clandestinely with fifth columns rather than trumpet their presence for political gain.
—Harris Mylonas, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2022
As descendants of Palestinians who remained in Israel after the 1948 war that led to its creation, their ties to the military are fraught and some in Israel see them as a fifth column because of their solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
—Tia Goldenberg, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Fifth column.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fifth%20column. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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