LUDDITE

n. & adj. --n. 1 hist. a member of any of the bands of English artisans who rioted against mechanization and destroyed machinery (1811-16). 2 a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology. --adj. of the Luddites or their beliefs. øøLuddism n. Ludditism n. [perh. f. Ned Lud, who destroyed machinery c. 1779]