Partisan

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Partisan

Postby Dr. Goodword » Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:39 pm

• partisan •


Pronunciation: pahr-tê-zên, -zæn • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A fervent, perhaps biased, supporter of an organization, person or cause, particularly in politics. 2. Guerilla, resistance fighter, a member of an underground citizens' organization fighting against the occupation of his or her country.

Notes: This word is less often spelled the way it is pronounced: partizan. This is the spelling in Eastern Europe where the partisan underground was particularly active in World War II. We have two words for the status of a partisan: partisanism or partisanship. The antonym is nonpartisan.

In Play: Political partisanship today haunts the news: "Partisans of the minority party use the filibuster to defeat the majority party's bills in the US Senate." The second sense of this word is more often used in reference to the underground resistance to Nazi and Fascist occupations: "World War II might have turned out differently had Tito and the Yugoslav partisans not prevented four German divisions from reinforcing Nazi troops in Stalingrad."

Word History: Today's Good Word was nabbed from French partisan, which borrowed it from Italian partigiano "factionist, partner", derived from parte "part, party". This word was passed down from Latin par(t)s "part, division; party, faction", which Latin inherited from PIE pere- "to grant, share, allot". Several Latin words derived from this word were borrowed by English as particle, party "involved individual", participate. Latin portio(n) "a part, share" also comes from pere-, which English nicked, too. This word is found in other Latinate words, like apportion and proportion. (Gratitude is owed Jeremy Busch, reliable keeper of the Agora, for recently recommending today's topical Good Word right here in the Agora.)
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Slava
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Re: Partisan

Postby Slava » Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:27 am

If spelled with a z, I always put the stress on the last syllable. Probably because that's how it would be in Russian, but it makes an interesting difference in the feel of the word.

A partisan is also a kind of spear head, as seen here. From the idea of it being the weapon of a partisan.
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LukeJavan8
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Re: Partisan

Postby LukeJavan8 » Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:55 am

Here in Nebraska we are the only state that has
a 'unicameral', a non-partisan legislature, with only
one house. They call themselves 'senators' but in
reality are a House of Representatives elected by
district on population basis. The State eliminated
its Senate decades ago. So the Democrat and
Republican infighting does not happen so much. Most
city and city-council races are also non-partisan.

This is just for anyone's information, if you're interested
and also the age of majority here is completion of one's
18th year, not the date of turning 18. So the age of adulthood
is 19.

I think that is true in Alabama as well, but I'm not sure
so as Phil says so often we are in the hinterlands.

Redneck may be more like it.
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