jacquerie · noun — A violent revolt by peasants. It carries an Arena rating of 1610, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, jacquerie ranks #780 of 17,142 for Scariest Words, #2,087 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,373 of 17,135 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,639 of 17,114 for Most Storied Words.
jacquerie is pronounced /ʒaˈkɹi/.
Why “jacquerie” is a great word
A violent, spontaneous revolt by peasants, specifically the 1358 uprising in France that became the archetype for all such rural insurrections. The term descends from French *jacquerie*, from that 1358 revolt, itself from *Jacques* (a derogatory nickname for a peasant, from the common given name) + *-erie* (a suffix denoting a collective or condition). Unlike a "rebellion," a broad term for armed resistance, or an "insurrection," which suggests organized, often urban intent, a jacquerie is the raw, spasmodic combustion of the plowed-under and the forgotten. It is the smell of scorched thatch and burning châteaux on the night air, the clumsy weight of a scythe turned weapon, and the terrible, fleeting silence between the battle cry and the cavalry's charge—the doomed and fatal fury of those with nothing left to lose, a brief spasm of blind, historical pain.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From the Jacquerie uprising of French peasants in 1358, from Jacques (a derogatory nickname for peasants) + -erie.
noun
- A violent revolt by peasants.e.g.“A jacquerie, even if carried out with the most respectful of intentions, cannot fail to leave some traces of embarrassment behind it.” — 1911, Saki, “The Stampeding of Lady Bastable”, in The Chronicles of Clovis:
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.
- émeute 54% match — A seditious tumult; an outbreak. vs jacquerie →
- chevauchee 53% match — A military raid by cavalry through enemy territory, designed to disrupt rural communities and weaken an opponent. vs jacquerie →
- uprising 52% match — A popular revolt that attempts to overthrow a government or its policies; an insurgency or insurrection. vs jacquerie →
- insurrection 52% match — The action of part or all of a national population violently rising up against the government or other authority; (countable) an instance of this; a revolt, an uprising; specifically, one that is at an initial stage or limited in nature. vs jacquerie →
- rabbling 51% match — An uprising; a riot by a mob. vs jacquerie →
- rioting 50% match — A riot. vs jacquerie →
- revolt 49% match — To rebel, particularly against authority. vs jacquerie →
- chouan 49% match — A member of a major revolt led by Jean Cottereau against the French Revolution vs jacquerie →