jacobitism means the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland. It carries an Arena rating of 1209, earned across 16 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, jacobitism ranks #1,790 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,736 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #6,293 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #7,423 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
Why “jacobitism” is a great word
Jacobitism is the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the exiled Stuart dynasty to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. From Jacobite (a supporter of King James II of England and his descendants, from the Latin Jacobus, "James") + -ism (denoting a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy), first attested in the early 1700s. Unlike legitimism, a broader European doctrine of dynastic right, or royalism, a generic advocacy for monarchical government, Jacobitism is the specific, haunted loyalty to one particular bloodline in exile. It is the white rose pinned secretly to a coat lapel, the clink of glasses in a Parisian salon for "the king over the water," and the hushed recitation of a forbidden toast in a remote Highland glen—a stubborn, ancestral ache for a crown that had slipped beyond reach.
Etymology
From Jacobite + -ism.
noun
- The political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- jacobite 75% match — A supporter of the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland in the late 17th century. vs jacobitism →
- jacobitish 69% match — Of or pertaining to the Jacobites. vs jacobitism →
- jacobitic 67% match — Of or pertaining to the Jacobites. vs jacobitism →
- jacobinism 65% match — The principles of the Jacobins; especially the violent opposition to legitimate government. vs jacobitism →
- jacobitical 64% match — Of or pertaining to the Jacobites. vs jacobitism →
- jacobean 56% match — Relating to a Jacob or James. vs jacobitism →
- royalism 53% match — Impassioned allegiance to or advocacy of the establishment, maintenance, and/or interests of a particular king, royal house, or kingly dynasty; sometimes extended to the same of a non-royal (i.e., grand ducal, imperial, or other) family or sovereign; often contrasted with monarchism. vs jacobitism →
- robespierrism 50% match — The revolutionary politics of Maximilien de Robespierre. vs jacobitism →