noun

1. a member of a political party in England (fl. 18th to mid-19th cent.) which championed reform and parliamentary rights: it later became the Liberal Party
2. ☆ in the American Revolution, a person who opposed continued allegiance to Great Britain and supported the Revolution
3. ☆ a member of an American political party (c. 1834-56) opposing the Democratic Party and advocating protection of industry and limitation of the power of the executive branch of government
4. one who propounds or subscribes to a Whig interpretation of history

Etymology: shortened form of whiggamore (applied to Scot Covenanters who marched on Edinburgh in 1648), an erratic form of Scot whiggamaire < whig, a cry to urge on horses + mare, horse

adjective

1. of or characteristic of Whigs
2. of or designating historical interpretation which finds in events an uninterrupted line of progress against reactionary forces and often regards the present as a natural and inevitable result of the past