unionistn.adj.
/ˈjuːnɪənɪst/, U.S. /ˈjunjənəst/ A. n.
1. Christian Church. A person who supports or advocates the union of churches or congregations. Cf. reunionist n.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > religion > a religion or church > [noun] > membership in > person having > desiring union
unionist1722
1722 J. Bingham Origines Ecclesiasticæ X. Pref. sig. D6 The Rationalists, Latitudinarians, Free-Thinkers; and Vnionists, who pretend that the Doctrine of Papists and Protestants rightly represented are in a manner all one.
1759 W. Harte Hist. Life Gustavus Adolphus I. 154 The protestants being alarmed at the persecuting spirit of Ferdinand II..had the precaution to combine themselves under the denomination of Unionists.
1852 H. Newland Lect. Tractarianism 165 We are Tractarians or Unionists or whatever you may please to call us.
1866 G. Talbot in E. S. Purcell Life & Lett. A. P. de Lisle (1900) I. xv. 408 I think that the sympathy of the Unionists for the Greek Schism is a proof of want of sincerity.
1869 Union Rev. 311 The Unionist, whether he be a Roman or an Anglican.
1918 Lutheran Witness 28 May 170/1 Unionists will find a new reason for fuddling the brains of Christians every passing week.
1924 Scotsman 22 May 6 It is complained by the ‘Unionists’ that some of the most violent of the ‘Antis’ have not seen the inside of a church for twenty years.
2003 Classical World 97 72 The unionists, for their part, condemned the antiunionists as fools who would bring about the collapse of Byzantium.
2. Chiefly with capital initial.
a. A person who supports the parliamentary union between Great Britain and Ireland; an opponent of Home Rule; (in later use frequently) spec. a member of the Liberal Unionist Party (see Liberal Unionist n. at liberal adj. and n. Compounds 2), or a member of the Conservative and Liberal Unionist Parties which formed a coalition government in 1895 and formally merged in 1912; (hence) a Conservative (chiefly Scottish in later use). Now historical.The party formed from the merger of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Unionist Party in 1912 was known in full as the Conservative and Unionist Party (see Conservative Party n. at conservative n. and adj. Compounds 2); in Scotland the party created from the merger was known as the Scottish Unionist Association (or Party), until it was renamed the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association (or Party) in 1965.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > Irish politics > [noun] > principles or policies > adherents or supporters of
unionist1799
West Briton1805
repealer1829
nationalist1849
Home Ruler1867
loyalist1885
Little Irelander1900
devolutionist1905
N1906
partitionist1921
1799 Observer 3 Mar. The Unionist and Anti-unionist may draw what deductions they please from our simple story.
1800 Evening Mail 17 Jan. The Unionists are quite elate, and consider the Question as already carried.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 6 July 14/1 The opinion..that..the Liberal Unionists are coming to signal grief... The Unionists have, indeed, pulled the chestnuts out of the fire for Lord Salisbury.
1893 Times 25 Apr. 11/1 A representative company of British Unionists to meet the Unionists of Ireland.
1915 Fortn. Rev. July 54 The Scottish Liberal members..developed for Mr. McKinnon Wood an affection of which they had previously given no sign in a spasm of apprehension..lest the post should be given to a Unionist.
1959 Times 2 May 6/2 The rate of progress under the Unionists had been very much faster than it was under Labour... For every house built in Scotland under Labour, two had been built under the Conservatives.
2000 J. Smith Brit. & Ireland iv. 52 What arguments could Unionists now reasonably deploy against Home Rule?
b. A person who is in favour of or advocates Northern Ireland remaining a devolved region of the United Kingdom; spec. a member of any of various parties in Northern Ireland, as the Ulster Unionist and Democratic Unionist Parties.Originally a contextual use of sense A. 2a.
ΚΠ
1921 Illustr. London News 11 June 791 All the 40 Unionists were there, but the 12 Sinn Fein and Nationalist Members did not attend.
1953 Times 23 Oct. 8/6 The Unionists were returned to power again in the general election in Northern Ireland.
1974 Times 18 Feb. 14/8 Opposed to them are three loyalist groups: the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists, Mr William Craig's Vanguard Unionists, and Mr Harry West's Ulster Unionists.
1982 B. MacLaverty Time to Dance (1985) 103 Although a Unionist through and through, Henderson liked to be able to say that he employed Catholics.
2003 U.S. News & World Rep. 21 July 31/2 Nationalists urged their followers not to disrupt the Orange Order marches... Unionists urged similar restraint.
3. gen. A person who supports or advocates the formation or maintenance of a particular political union.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > political philosophy > principles of or attachment to types of government > [noun] > federalism > union or unification > adherent of
Unitarian1800
unionist1814
consolidationist1883
1814 Morning Post 2 Dec. 1/3 The Anti-Gallican of that day will also contain further particulars of the Proceedings of the ‘Unionists of Italy’.
1887 J. P. Mahaffy Alexander's Empire xxx. 286 There was a large nationalist party..violently opposed to the unionists,..constantly asserting the right of every Greek state to legislate for itself.
1890 J. Hatton By Order of Czar xiv. 96 [He was] above all things an Imperial Unionist, and would defend to the death the merest scrap of soil over which the flag had ever floated.
1978 B. W. Hodgins in B. W. Hodgins et al. Federalism in Canada & Austral. iii. 44 The French-speaking unionists were ably assisted by the Catholic hierarchy and by widespread fears of American annexation.
2012 Guardian (Nexis) 10 Jan. 26 It is little wonder that [Scottish] unionists fancy their chances of winning a referendum held now.
4. Chiefly with capital initial. A supporter or advocate of the federal union of the U.S. states; esp. a person opposed to the secession of the Confederate states during the American Civil War (1861–5). Cf. union n.2 13a. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > American politics > [noun] > support of Union in Civil War > supporter
unionist1815
Fed1861
federal1861
unioner1861
Union man1861
Tory1862
red-leg1863
1815 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 3 Feb. The preparations of the Republican Unionists will appal the traitors.
1830 D. Webster Speeches & Forensic Arguments 366 I am a unionist, and, in this sense, a national republican.
1862 J. L. Motley Let. 21 Sept. in Corr. (1889) II. iii. 94 The anti-slavery men became the Unionists, the slaveholders the Destructionists.
1883 American 7 149 A Texas ‘Unionist’ is going to sue the United States for the value of his slaves.
1962 Ebony June 134/2 Negro leaders and ‘hard-war’ Unionists asked Lincoln to stop the ‘military slave hunt’.
2009 Washington Post (Nexis) 27 Sept. b7 A band of deserters and other Unionists became a virtual law unto themselves for the last two years of the war.
5. A member of a trade union; a supporter or advocate of trade unionism; = trade unionist n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > those involved in labour relations > [noun] > member of trade union
co-operative1827
trade unionist1833
unionist1833
co-operator1863
pie card1931
1833 Crisis 2 Nov. 79/3 I remain, Sir, yours, &c. An unionist.
1854 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters xv. 327 The life of my friend was..pitched on a..higher tone than that of most of his brother unionists.
1879 T. H. S. Escott England I. 282 The charges of conspiracy and violence brought against unionists and unionism.
1930 C. E. Morgan Origin & Hist. N.Y. Employing Printer's Assoc. iii. 45 There seem to have been many unemployed unionists, for the society opened the first regular House of Call and attempted a cooperative printing plant.
1965 F. Hardy Yarns of Billy Borker 126 The old Ragged was a good bloke, a good worker and a good unionist, but he was fond of the gargle, see.
2000 Sydney Morning Herald 31 May 9/6 Thousands of unionists will rally in front of the Prime Minister's Sydney office on Monday.
B. adj.
1. Chiefly with capital initial.
a. Supporting or advocating the parliamentary union between Great Britain and Ireland; (in later use frequently) spec. of or relating to the Liberal Unionists, or to the alliance between the Liberal Unionists and the Conservative Party (see sense A. 2a); (hence) Conservative (chiefly Scottish in later use). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > Irish politics > [adjective] > principles or policies
unionist1799
Fenian1865
Home-Ruling1872
loyalist1885
1799 Courier & Evening Gaz. 23 Jan. A Levee is to be held..at which the Parliamentary Anti-Unionists are to be present; and it is expected they will out-number his Excellency the Marquis Cornwallis's Unionist Levee.
1848 W. J. O'N. Daunt Recoll. O'Connell I. ii. 16 I spoke in reply to a Unionist effusion of Emerson Tennent's.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 3 July 4/1 The utter failure of the Unionist attack..at Stockton.
1890 H. R. Haggard Beatrice xviii. 166 He knew the head Unionist whip very well.
1904 Times 4 Oct. 7/2 The Unionist party and the country at large will rejoice in his emphatic reference to the Home Rule question.
1929 Scotsman 26 Nov. 8 He had the hardihood to blame the Unionist Opposition for not having succeeded..in reducing unemployment.
1982 R. Rose Understanding United Kingdom iii. 68 The Conservative Party officially styles itself the Conservative and Unionist Party.
2005 R. Douglas Liberals v. 66 Two men who were to play major parts in the Unionist cause—Chamberlain on the Liberal side and Lord Randolph Churchill on the Conservative—were absent.
b. Advocating, relating to, or characteristic of Unionism (unionism n. 1b) in Northern Ireland; spec. designating any of various political parties in favour of Northern Ireland remaining a devolved region of the United Kingdom; of or relating to such parties.Originally a contextual use of sense A. 2a.
ΚΠ
1921 Times 26 Jan. 10/4 [He] declined..to accept the leadership of the Unionist Party in the new Ulster Parliament.
1922 C. J. C. Street Ireland in 1921 ix. 226 The House of Commons contained only Unionist members, who were..anxious to say nothing which might compromise the position of the Six Counties.
1955 Times 16 May 3/5 The fact that Sinn Fein has put forward candidates for West Belfast, Mid-Ulster, and Fermanagh and South Tyrone may mean that a Unionist gain will be recorded.
1975 Irish Times 24 May 9/4 As an Orangeman, Unionist and Loyalist he was convinced that all Ulster people who loved their country should say no to the Common Market.
1992 N.Y. Times 21 Jan. a6/6 Unionist leaders have called for..compulsory identity cards in an attempt to flush out terrorists.
2001 K. Fearon & A. Verlaque Lurgan Champagne & Other Tales 113 I was steeped in Unionist culture—I was British, I attended Orange marches, I was Protestant.
2. gen. Of, relating to, supporting, or advocating a particular political union.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > political philosophy > principles of or attachment to types of government > [adjective] > relating to or supporting federalism or union
federalist1794
federalizing1800
Unitarian1816
unionist1825
unionistic1840
federalistic1844
federationist1978
1825 tr. J. Fouché Mem. I. 251 This oracle was a thunderbolt for the unionist party [Fr. le parti unitaire].
1830 W. Scott Black Dwarf xii, in Tales of my Landlord (new ed.) I. 142 The Unionist courtiers, that have bought and sold old Scotland.
1850 A. Malet Let. 27 Dec. in M. Mösslang et al. Brit. Envoys Germany (2006) III. 350 Messrs Welcker and Mathy, two of the most able and zealous supporters of the Unionist or Gotha Party in Southern Germany, think it advisable to give utterance.
1981 Economist 24 Jan. 43/1 The first ‘United Arab Republic’..came about in 1958 because the unionist Syrian Baathists threw themselves into the arms of Egypt's President Nasser.
1999 Herald (Glasgow) 6 Apr. 14/5 I'm a lifelong Home Ruler who believes that separatism will produce a Scotland very similar to a unionist one, except with different labels.
3. Chiefly with capital initial. Supporting or advocating the federal union of the U.S. states; esp. of, relating to, or supporting the Union side during the American Civil War (1861–5). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > American politics > [adjective] > supporting Union in Civil War
unionist1830
federal1861
1830 Southern Times & State Gaz. 18 Nov. A creature emanating from the prolific fancies of the Unionist Exclusives.
1859 Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig & Courier 31 Dec. Resolves like these..would place the Unionist character of the meeting beyond dispute.
1863 E. Dicey Six Months in Federal States II. 187 The Atlantic Monthly..is..staunchly Unionist, and more or less anti-slavery.
1883 T. Brassey Brit. Navy (ed. 2) III. iii. 157 The latter [sc. the ‘Merrimac’] steamed out from Norfolk, accompanied by two gun-boats, to attack the Unionist ships.
1976 M. Robin Bad & Lonely 39 McAulay had attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Unionist Army during the American Civil War.
1998 J. Greene & A. Massignani Ironclads at War v. 176 The Unionist town of Plymouth.
4. Of or belonging to a trade union or the trade-union movement; involving or involved in trade unionism.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > association of employers or employees > [adjective] > belonging to trade unionism
trade unionist1834
unionist1834
unionistic1865
1834 Crisis 10 May 36/1 A dissenting unionist master-builder.
1879 H. Spencer Data of Ethics xii. §78. 211 The unionist principle that the better workers must not discredit the worse by exceeding them in efficiency.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 11 Sept. 3/1 The success of the unionist movement.
1903 Sat. Rev. 31 Oct. 537/1 The consumer, the general public, has complained of unionist protective action often enough.
1977 Mother Jones Feb. 48/1 It's odd that they [sc. secretaries] aren't more rebellious, or unionist or at least unhappy.
1995 Canberra Times 30 Aug. 7/2 (headline) Unionist protests at Kelty.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.adj.1722