chau·vin·ism   (shō'və-nĭz'əm)    n.   Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country; fanatical patriotism. Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own gender, group, or kind: "the chauvinism . . . of making extraterrestrial life in our own image" (Henry S.F. Cooper, Jr.) [French chauvinisme, after Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary French soldier famous for his devotion to Napoleon.] chau'vin·ist n., chau'vin·is'tic adj., chau'vin·is'ti·cal·ly adv.

Chauvinism

Chau"vin*ism\, n. [F. chauvinisme, from Chauvin, a character represented as making grotesque and threatening displays of his attachment to his fallen chief, Napoleon I., in 1815.] Blind and absurd devotion to a fallen leader or an obsolete cause; hence, absurdly vainglorious or exaggerated patriotism. -- Chau"vin*ist, n. -- Chau`vin*is"tic, a.

Note: To have a generous belief in the greatness of one's country is not chauvinism. It is the character of the latter quality to be wildly extravagant, to be fretful and childish and silly, to resent a doubt as an insult, and to offend by its very frankness. --Prof. H. Tuttle.

chauvinism

Exaggerated belief in the supremacy of one's nation, class, caste, or group. Chauvinism usually involves xenophobia.

Note: The word chauvinism is often used as shorthand for “male chauvinism,” a term describing the attitudes of men who believe that women are inferior and should not be given equal status with men. (See also feminism.)

chauvinism 

chauvinism

excessive and unreasonable patriotism, similar to jingoism. The word is derived from the name of Nicolas Chauvin, a French soldier who, satisfied with the reward of military honours and a small pension, retained a simpleminded devotion to Napoleon. Chauvin came to typify the cult of the glorification of all things military that was popular after 1815 among the veterans of Napoleon's armies. Later, chauvinism came to mean any kind of ultranationalism and was used generally to connote an undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which one belongs. The term chauvinism also may describe an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex, as in male chauvinism. Some animal-rights advocates have used the term to indicate a similar attitude on the part of human beings toward other species, as in "species chauvinism."

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