Tory Definition | Definition of Tory at Dictionary.com

To⋅ry

[tawr-ee, tohr-ee]

noun, plural -ries, for 1–5, adjective

–noun

1.	a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.

2.	a member of a political party in Great Britain from the late 17th century to about 1832 that favored royal authority over Parliament and the preservation of the existing social and political order: succeeded by the Conservative party.

3.	(often lowercase) an advocate of conservative principles; one opposed to reform or radicalism.

4.	a person who supported the British cause in the American Revolution; a loyalist.

5.	(in the 17th century) a dispossessed Irishman who resorted to banditry, esp. after the invasion of Oliver Cromwell and suppression of the royalist cause (1649–52).

6.	a male or female given name.

–adjective

7.	of, belonging to, or characteristic of the Tories.

8.	being a Tory.

9.	(sometimes lowercase) opposed to reform or radicalism; conservative.

Origin:
1640–50; < Ir *tóraighe outlaw, bandit, deriv. of tóir chase, pursuit

-tory

a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, orig. adjectival derivatives of agent nouns ending in -tor (predatory); also forming adjectival derivatives directly from verbs (obligatory; transitory).

Origin:
< L -tōrius, equiv. to -tōr- -tor + -ius adj. suffix

-tory

a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, usually derivatives from agent nouns ending in -tor or directly from verbs, denoting a place or object appropriate for the activity of the verb: dormitory; repository.

Origin:
< L -tōrium, n. use of neut. of -tōrius -tory ¹

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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To·ry (tôr'ē, tōr'ē)

n. pl. To·ries

1. A member of a British political party, founded in 1689, that was the opposition party to the Whigs and has been known as the Conservative Party since about 1832.
2. A member of a Conservative Party, as in Canada.
An American who, during the period of the American Revolution, favored the British side. Also called Loyalist.
often tory A supporter of traditional political and social institutions against the forces of democratization or reform; a political conservative.

[Irish Gaelic tóraidhe, robber, from Old Irish tóir, pursuit; see ret- in Indo-European roots.]
To'ry adj., To'ry·ism n.

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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Tory

To"ry\, n.; pl. Tories. [ Properly used of the Irish bogtrotters who robbed and plundered during the English civil wars, professing to be in sympathy with the royal cause; hence transferred to those who sought to maintain the extreme prerogatives of the crown; probably from Ir. toiridhe, tor, a pursuer; akin to Ir. & Gael. toir a pursuit.]

1. (Eng.Politics) A member of the conservative party, as opposed to the progressive party which was formerly called the Whig, and is now called the Liberal, party; an earnest supporter of exsisting royal and ecclesiastical authority.

Note: The word Tory first occurs in English history in 1679, during the struggle in Parliament occasioned by the introduction of the bill for the exclusion of the duke of York from the line of succession, and was applied by the advocates of the bill to its opponents as a title of obloquy or contempt. The Tories subsequently took a broader ground, and their leading principle became the maintenance of things as they were. The name, however, has for several years ceased to designate an existing party, but is rather applied to certain traditional maxims of public policy. The political successors of the Tories are now commonly known as Conservatives. --New Am. Cyc.

2. (Amer. Hist.) One who, in the time of the Revolution, favored submitting tothe claims of Great Britain against the colonies; an adherent tothe crown.

Tory

To"ry\, a. Of ro pertaining to the Tories.

Tory

1566, "an outlaw," specifically "a robber," from Ir. toruighe "plunderer," originally "pursuer, searcher," from O.Ir. toirighim "I pursue," related to toracht "pursuit." 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.

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