Tory's Definition | Definition of Tory's 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

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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.

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