Jacobin

noun

Jac·​o·​bin ˈja-kə-bən How to pronounce Jacobin (audio)
1
2
[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
Jacobinic adjective
or Jacobinical
Jacobinism noun

Examples of Jacobin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Dominican Order — one of the four orders of the Roman Catholic Church — was known as the Jacobin Order in France. Moira Ritter, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 Madeleine’s role in The Bitter Tears of Marie Antoinette, filmed at a guillotine, suggests how corporate media’s travesty of J6 show trials on network TV put us through a modern version of the French Revolution’s Jacobin Terror. Armond White, National Review, 26 Jan. 2024 McAlevey, who was wearing jeans, puffy purple shoes, and a sleeveless, peach blouse, took the stage, along with her interviewer, the Jacobin editor Micah Uetricht. Eleni Schirmer, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2023 Young protesters were educating themselves, joining socialist reading groups organized by Jacobin, the new socialist intellectual organ, and preparing for what might come next. Ross Barkan, The New Republic, 3 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Jacobin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Jacobin was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near Jacobin

Cite this Entry

“Jacobin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Jacobin. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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