/tawr"ee, tohr"ee/ , n. , pl. Tories , for 1-5 , adj.
n.
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 l.c. ) 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, esp. after the invasion of Oliver Cromwell and suppression of the royalist cause (1649-52).
6. a male or female given name.
adj.
7. of, belonging to, or characteristic of the Tories.
8. being a Tory.
9. ( sometimes l.c. ) opposed to reform or radicalism; conservative.
[ 1640-50; tóraighe outlaw, bandit, deriv. of tóir chase, pursuit ]