First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
Jacobin
noun Jac·o·bin \ˈja-kə-bən\
Definition of JACOBIN
1
2
[French, from Jacobin Dominican; from the group's founding in the Dominican convent in Paris] : a member of an extremist or radical political group; especially : a member of such a group advocating egalitarian democracy and engaging in terrorist activities during the French Revolution of 1789
— Jac·o·bin·ic \ˌja-kə-ˈbi-nik\ or Jac·o·bin·i·cal \-ni-kəl\ adjective
— Jac·o·bin·ism \ˈja-kə-bə-ˌni-zəm\ noun
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Origin of JACOBIN
Middle English, from Anglo-French jacopin, from Medieval Latin Jacobinus, from Late Latin Jacobus (St. James); from the location of the first Dominican convent in the street of St. James, Paris
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