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sans-culotte

 - 3 dictionary results

sans-cu⋅lotte

  [sanz-kyoo-lot, -koo-; Fr. sahn-ky-lawt]
Use sans-culotte in a Sentence
–noun, plural sans-cu⋅lottes  [sanz-kyoo-lots, -koo-; Fr. sahn-ky-lawt] .
1. (in the French Revolution) a revolutionary of the poorer class: originally a term of contempt applied by the aristocrats but later adopted as a popular name by the revolutionaries.
2. any extreme republican or revolutionary.
Origin:
1780–90; < F: lit., without knee breeches

Related forms:
sans-cu⋅lot⋅tic  [sanz-kyoo-lot-ik, -koo-] , adjective
sans-cu⋅lot⋅tish, adjective
sans-cu⋅lot⋅tism, noun
sans-cu⋅lot⋅tist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sans-cu·lotte   (sānz'kyōō-lŏt', -kōō-, säɴ-kü-lôt')   
n.  

  1. An extreme radical republican during the French Revolution.

  2. A revolutionary extremist.


[French : sans, without + culotte, breeches.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

sans-culotte 
lower-class republican of the Fr. Revolution, 1790, from Fr., lit. "without breeches;" the second element a dim. of cul "bottom, backside," from L. culus. Usually explained as referring to the class whose distinctive costume was pantalons (long trousers) as opposed to the upper classes, which wore culottes (knee-breeches), but this is not certain.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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