From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Partisan \Par"ti*san\ (p[aum]r"t[i^]*zan), noun [F., fr. It. partigiano. See {Party}, and cf. {Partisan} a truncheon.] [Written also {partizan}.]
1. An adherent to a party or faction; esp., one who is strongly and passionately devoted to a party or an interest. ''The violence of a partisan.'' --Macaulay.
Both sides had their partisans in the colony. --Jefferson.
2. (Mil.) (a) The commander of a body of detached light troops engaged in making forays and harassing an enemy. (b) Any member of such a corps.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Partisan \Par"ti*san\, adjective [Written also partizan.]
1. Adherent to a party or faction; especially, having the character of blind, passionate, or unreasonable adherence to a party; as, blinded by partisan zeal.
2. (Mil.) Serving as a partisan in a detached command; as, a partisan officer or corps.
{Partisan ranger} (Mil.), a member of a partisan corps.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Partisan \Par"ti*san\, noun [F. pertuisane, prob. fr. It. partigiana, influenced in French by OF. pertuisier to pierce. It was prob. so named as the weapon of some partisans, or party men. Cf. {Partisan} one of a corps of light troops.] A kind of halberd or pike; also, a truncheon; a staff.
And make him with our pikes and partisans a grave. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: devoted to a cause or party [syn: {partizan}] [ant: {nonpartisan}]
2: adhering or confined to a particular sect or denomination or party; "denominational prejudice" [syn: {denominational}]
noun
1: a fervent and even militant proponent of something [syn: {zealot}, {drumbeater}]
2: an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of some person or activity [syn: {enthusiast}, {partizan}]
3: a pike with a long tapering double-edged blade with lateral projections; 16th and 17th centuries [syn: {partizan}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
193 Moby Thesaurus words for "partisan": Charley, Conservative, Democrat, Labourite, Maecenas, Republican, Tory, VC, Vietcong, Whig, abettor, acquaintance, adherent, admirer, advocate, aficionado, aggressive, alter ego, angel, antiblack, apologist, appendage, attendant, backer, bellicose, belligerent, best friend, biased, bickering, bigoted, bipartisan, biparty, blind, booster, bosom friend, brother, buff, bushfighter, bushwhacker, casual, casual acquaintance, cavaliere servente, champion, chauvinistic, close acquaintance, close friend, cohort, colored, combative, confidant, confidante, courtier, dangler, defender, denominational, dependence, dependent, devoted, devotee, die-hard, disciple, disputatious, divisive, doctrinaire, dogmatic, encourager, endorser, enthusiast, eristic, exponent, factional, factious, familiar, fan, fanatic, favorer, fellow, fellow creature, fellowman, flunky, follower, following, freedom, friend, friend at court, guerilla, guerrilla, hanger-on, heeler, henchman, homme de cour, influenced, inseparable friend, interested, intimate, involved, irascible, irregular, irritable, jaundiced, know-nothing, limited, litigious, lover, loyalist, mainstay, maintainer, maquis, maquisard, myopic, narrow, narrow-minded, neighbor, nonobjective, one-sided, opinionated, other self, paranymph, parasite, parochial, partial, party, party faithful, party hack, party man, party member, party wheelhorse, patriot, patron, pickup, polarizing, polemic, prejudiced, prepossessed, promoter, protagonist, public, pugnacious, pursuer, pursuivant, quarrelsome, racist, registered Democrat, registered Republican, regular, reliance, repository, resistance, resistance fighter, rooter, satellite, second, seconder, sectarian, sectary, sectional, sexist, shadow, short-sighted, shrewish, sider, sponsor, stalwart, standby, stooge, successor, superpatriotic, support, supporter, sustainer, swayed, sympathizer, tagtail, tail, tendentious, trainbearer, twisted, ultranationalist, underground, underground fighter, undetached, undispassionate, unneutral, unreasoning, upholder, votary, ward heeler, warped, well-wisher, wheelhorse, wrangling, xenophobic, zealot
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