Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • See partizan, partizan.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun An adherent to a party or faction; esp., one who is strongly and passionately devoted to a party or an interest.
  • noun The commander of a body of detached light troops engaged in making forays and harassing an enemy.
  • noun Any member of such a corps.
  • adjective Adherent to a party or faction; especially, having the character of blind, passionate, or unreasonable adherence to a party.
  • adjective (Mil.) Serving as a partisan in a detached command.
  • adjective (Mil.) a member of a partisan corps.
  • noun A kind of halberd or pike; also, a truncheon; a staff.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun historical A spear with a triangular, double-edged blade.
  • noun obsolete A soldier armed with such a weapon.
  • noun An adherent to a party or faction.
  • noun A fervent, sometimes militant, supporter or proponent of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea.
  • noun A guerilla fighter; a member of detached light troops acting behind enemy lines.
  • noun The commander of a body of detached light troops engaged in making forays and harassing an enemy.
  • adjective Serving as commander or member of a body of detached light troops: as, a partisan officer or corps.
  • adjective Adherent to a party or faction; especially, having the character of blind, passionate, or unreasonable adherence to a party; as, blinded by partisan zeal.
  • adjective Devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause: partisan politics.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a pike with a long tapering double-edged blade with lateral projections; 16th and 17th centuries
  • noun an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of some person or activity
  • adjective devoted to a cause or party
  • noun a fervent and even militant proponent of something

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French partizaine, partisanne et al., from Italian partigiana, related to Etymology 1, above (apparently because it was seen as a typical weapon of such forces).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French partisan, from Italian partigiano ("defender of a party"), from parte ("part"). English from the mid-16th century. The sense of "guerilla fighter" is from c. 1690. The adjective in the military sense dates from the early 18th century, in the political sense since 1842.

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Examples

Comments

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  • I wrote as an enthusiast and a partisan—and with, it now seems to me, a certain naiveté.

    Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation and Other Essays

    November 19, 2011