Tory
pronunciation
How to pronounce Tory in British English:
UK [ˈtɔ:ri]
How to pronounce Tory in American English:
US [ˈtɔri, ˈtori]
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- Noun:
- an American who favored the British side during the American Revolution
- a supporter of traditional political and social institutions against the forces of reform; a political conservative
Word Origin
- Tory
- Tory: [17] The term tory originally denoted an Irish guerrilla, one of a group of Irishmen who in the 1640s were thrown off their property by the British and took to a life of harrying and plundering the British occupiers (it is an anglicization of Irish *tóraighe ‘pursuer’, which was derived from tóir ‘pursue’). In the 1670s it was applied as a term of abuse to Irish Catholic royalists, and then more generally to supporters of the Catholic James II, and after 1689 it came to be used for the members of the British political party that had at first opposed the removal of James and his replacement with the Protestant William and Mary.
- Tory (n.)
- 1566, "an outlaw," specifically "one of a class of Irish robbers noted for outrages and savage cruelty," from Irish toruighe "plunderer," originally "pursuer, searcher," from Old Irish toirighim "I pursue," from toir "pursuit," from Celtic *to-wo-ret- "a running up to," from PIE root *ret- "to run, roll" (see rotary). About 1646, it emerged as a derogatory term for Irish Catholics dispossessed of their land (some of whom subsequently turned to outlawry); c. 1680 applied by Exclusioners to supporters of the Catholic Duke of York (later James II) in his succession to the throne of England. After 1689, Tory was the name of a British political party at first composed of Yorkist Tories of 1680. Superseded c. 1830 by Conservative, though it continues to be used colloquially. In American history, Tory was the name given after 1769 to colonists who remained loyal to George III of England; it represents their relative position in the pre-revolutionary English political order in the colonies. As an adjective from 1680s.
Example
- 1. Mr cameron is meeting tory mps on monday evening .
- 2. That is not enough for tory mps .
- 3. Tory leaders think they can win that argument .
- 4. Angst among tory parliamentarians has two causes .
- 5. Most tory mps do not favour outright withdrawal .