Whig
1. a member of the English political party or grouping that in 1679--80 opposed the succession to the throne of James, Duke of York (1633--1701; king of England and Ireland as James II, and of Scotland as James VII, 1685--88), on the grounds that he was a Catholic. Standing for a limited monarchy, the Whigs represented the great aristocracy and the moneyed middle class for the next 80 years. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Whigs represented the desires of industrialists and Dissenters for political and social reform. The Whigs provided the core of the Liberal Party
2. (in the US) a supporter of the War of American Independence
3. a member of the American political party that opposed the Democrats from about 1834 to 1855 and represented propertied and professional interests
4. a conservative member of the Liberal Party in Great Britain
5. a person who advocates and believes in an unrestricted laissez-faire economy
6. History a 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian, esp one in rebellion against the Crown
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005