From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Tory \To"ry\, noun; 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 existing 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 to the claims of Great Britain against the colonies; an adherent to the crown.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Tory \To"ry\, adjective Of or pertaining to the Tories.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: an American who favored the British side during the American Revolution
2: a supporter of traditional political and social institutions against the forces of reform; a political conservative
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
41 Moby Thesaurus words for "Tory": Bircher, Bourbon, Conservative, Democrat, Labourite, Republican, Whig, conservatist, conservative, diehard, extreme right-winger, hard hat, heeler, imperialist, loyalist, monarchist, partisan, party faithful, party hack, party man, party member, party wheelhorse, radical right, reactionarist, reactionary, reactionist, registered Democrat, registered Republican, regular, right, right wing, right-winger, rightist, royalist, social Darwinist, stalwart, standpat, standpatter, ultraconservative, ward heeler, wheelhorse
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0