See Also: partisan(1)(dictionary)
partisan(2)(dictionary)
non-partisan(dictionary)
partisan 1, adjective(dictionary)
partisan 2, noun(dictionary)

partisan(2) (iou)



partisan noun2. Also partizan. M16.
[French partizane (now pertuisane, after pertuiser bore through) from Italian partesana dial. var. of partigiana use as noun (sc. arma weapon) of fem. of partigiano: see PARTISAN noun1 & adjective.]
Chiefly Hist.
A military weapon used by infantrymen in the 16th and 17th cents., consisting of a long-handled spear with a blade having one or more lateral cutting projections; such a weapon borne ceremonially by civic and other guards. M16.
A soldier or civic guard armed with a partisan. M17.
? Obsolete after E18 until revived by Sir Walter Scott in E19.