noun
or guelph ˈgwelf, -eu̇f
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Italian Guelfo, from Medieval Latin Guelphus, from Middle High German Welf, name of a German princely family, from Old High German welf, hwelf whelp — more at whelp
: a member of a political faction in Italy from the 12th to the 15th centuries that opposed the authority of the German emperors in Italy and was made up of a church party asserting the papacy to be independent of the emperors and a party of principalities and city republics contending for their own rights and liberties — compare ghibelline
• guelf·ic or guelph·ic -fik adjective , usually capitalized