Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a member of the aristocratic party in medieval Italy and Germany that supported the claims of the German emperors against the papacy: politically opposed to the Guelphs.
adjective
- of or relating to the Ghibellines.
noun
- a member of the political faction in medieval Italy originally based on support for the German emperor
- (modifier) of or relating to the GhibellinesCompare Guelph 1
adherent of the emperor in medieval Italy, 1570s, from German Waiblingen, seat of the Hohenstaufens in Württemberg. The name was said to have been used as a rallying cry by partisans of Conrad III at the Battle of Weinsberg (1140). See Guelph.