Tory

noun, plural To·ries, for 1–5.

1. a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.
2. a member of a political party in Great Britain from the late 17th century to about 1832 that favored royal authority over Parliament and the preservation of the existing social and political order: succeeded by the Conservative party.
3. (often lowercase) an advocate of conservative principles; one opposed to reform or radicalism.
4. a person who supported the British cause in the American Revolution; a loyalist.
5. (in the 17th century) a dispossessed Irishman who resorted to banditry, especially after the invasion of Oliver Cromwell and suppression of the royalist cause (1649–52).
6. a male or female given name.

adjective

7. of, belonging to, or characteristic of the Tories.
8. being a Tory.
9. (sometimes lowercase) opposed to reform or radicalism; conservative.

noun plural -ries

1. a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada
2. a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s
3. an American supporter of the British cause; loyalistCompare Whig
4. (sometimes not capital) an ultraconservative or reactionary
5. (in the 17th century) an Irish Roman Catholic, esp an outlaw who preyed upon English settlers

adjective

6. of, characteristic of, or relating to Tories
7. (sometimes not capital) ultraconservative or reactionary

n.

1566, “an outlaw,” specifically “a robber,” from Irish toruighe “plunderer,” originally “pursuer, searcher,” from Old Irish toirighim “I pursue,” related to toracht “pursuit.” About 1646, it emerged as a derogatory term for Irish Catholics dispossessed of their land (some of whom subsequently turned to outlawry); c.1680 applied by Exclusioners to supporters of the Catholic Duke of York (later James II) in his succession to the throne of England. After 1689, Tory was the name of a British political party at first composed of Yorkist Tories of 1680. Superseded c.1830 by Conservative, though it continues to be used colloquially. In American history, Tory was the name given after 1769 to colonists who remained loyal to George III of England.

A political party in Britain, also called the Conservative party. In the late eighteenth century, the Tories took form as defenders of the king and stability and of established interests in Britain; they advised caution in making political and social change. Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, and Margaret Thatcher belonged to the party.