Ghibelline

[ gib-uh-lin, -leen ]

noun

1. a member of the aristocratic party in medieval Italy and Germany that supported the claims of the German emperors against the papacy: politically opposed to the Guelphs.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Ghibellines.

Ghibelline

/ ˈɡɪbɪˌlaɪn; -ˌliːn /

noun

1. a member of the political faction in medieval Italy originally based on support for the German emperor
2. See Guelph
   modifier of or relating to the Ghibellines Compare Guelph 1

Derived Forms

• ˈGhibelˌlinism, noun

Other Words From

• Ghibel·lin·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ghibelline¹

1565–75; < Italian Ghibellino < Middle High German *wībeling- ( German Waiblingen ) a Hohenstaufen estate in Germany

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ghibelline¹

C16: from Italian Ghibellino, probably from Middle High German Waiblingen, a Hohenstaufen estate

Example Sentences

Only Pisa, glorying in the strength of the sea and the splendour of war, was Ghibelline, with Siena on her sunny hills.

From Project Gutenberg

Pisa was perhaps influenced, too, in her choice of the Ghibelline side by the interference of the Papacy against her in Corsica.

From Project Gutenberg

If Pisa fell, it was just and right; for that she was Ghibelline, and would not make one with her sisters.

From Project Gutenberg

The old palace in which the Ghibelline parliament met still stands on the Piazza del Mercato.

From Project Gutenberg

We can now understand the Guelf and Ghibelline struggles of the thirteenth century.

From Project Gutenberg