Whig

(hwĭg), n. [See WHEY.] Acidulated whey, sometimes mixed with buttermilk and sweet herbs, used as a cooling beverage. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

n. [From whig, whey, which the Scottish Covenanters used to drink, and hence a name given to them, or from whiggam, a term used in Scotland in driving horses, whiggamore, one who drives horses, contracted to whig. In 1648, a party of these people marched to Edinburgh to oppose the king and the duke of Hamilton; and hence the name of whig was given to the party opposed to the court. According to others, from the initial letters of “we hope in God,” as a motto of the club from which the whig party took its rise.]

1Sense 1. (Eng. Hist.) One of a political party which had its origin in England in the seventeenth century, in the reign of Charles I. or II., when great contests existed respecting the royal prerogatives and the rights of the people. Those who supported the king in his high claims were called tories, and the advocates of popular rights were called whigs.

2Sense 2. (Am. Hist.) (a.) A friend and supporter of the American Revolution and the war ensuing;—opposed to tory and royalist.

Where, then, when tories scarce get clear, Shall whigs and congresses appear? McFingal.

(b.) One of a political party in the United States from about 1829 to 1853, opposed in politics to the so-called democrats.