antebellum

[ an-tee-bel-uhm ]

adjective

1. before or existing before a war, especially the American Civil War; prewar:

   the antebellum plantations of Georgia.

antebellum

/ ˌæntɪˈbɛləm /

adjective

1. of or during the period before a war, esp the American Civil War

   the antebellum South

antebellum

1. A descriptive term for objects and institutions, especially houses, that originated three or four decades before the Civil War . Antebellum is Latin for “before the war.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of antebellum¹

First recorded in 1860–65, antebellum is from Latin ante bellum “before the war”

Word History and Origins

Origin of antebellum¹

Latin ante bellum, literally: before the war

Example Sentences

He also characterized the antebellum North as “the mere cringing vassal of the South” and a section of the country that contained “lords” and “nobles” of its own that comprised an “aristocracy of the skin.”

From Salon

Consider the searing “12 Years a Slave,” set against the brutal backdrop of plantation life in antebellum Louisiana; “Small Axe,” a suite of five exquisite films about the Windrush generation of U.K.

From Los Angeles Times

Witness Donald Trump recently questioning the racial identity of his opponent, Kamala Harris, a race-baiting potshot that dredges up ingrained prejudices against biracial Americans that stretch back to the antebellum South.

From Los Angeles Times

“Her books on antebellum visual culture are award-winning and represent the incisive, rigorous scholarship Yale faculty produce and that we want our students to study.”

From Seattle Times

Every spring, the city’s finest antebellum homes are opened to the public for a few weeks, inviting people in to marvel at the craftsmanship and the opulence.

From New York Times