adullamite means an inhabitant of Adullam. Near this town there was a cave where David and his allies sought refuge from Saul. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “adullamite” is a great word
ADULLAMITE — [Noun] A political dissenter, specifically a member of the faction of British Liberal MPs who broke ranks in 1866 to oppose their own government's parliamentary reform proposals. From Adullam, the name of a biblical town whose cave was a refuge for David and his followers, + the suffix -ite (denoting an inhabitant or follower); the specific political sense was coined in 1866 by John Bright, who derided the anti-reform faction as a 'Cave of Adullam'. Unlike a dissident—a general term for opposition—or a loyalist—one who clings to the party line—an Adullamite is one who retreats into a principled, if isolated, cavern of conscience. It evokes the murmured conspiracy in a corridor just off the main hall, the quiet scraping back of a chair from the table, and the manifesto drafted by candlelight—a dignified secession that remembers all schisms begin with a few men stepping out of the light.
noun
- An inhabitant of Adullam. Near this town there was a cave where David and his allies sought refuge from Saul.
- A member of the anti-reform faction of the British Liberal Party in the 19th century.