| Definitions | antidisestablishmentarianism
noun
- A political philosophy opposed to the separation of a religious group ("church") and a government ("state"), esp. the belief held by those in 19th century England opposed to separating the Anglican church from the civil government.
Etymology: Said by Weekley to be first recorded in w:William Gladstone, Gladstone's "Church and State", in reference to a scheme directed against the Church of England. From establishment in the sense of the ecclesiastical system established by law; the Church of England.- establish
- : to set up, put in place, or institute (originally from the Latin stÄre, to stand)
- dis- + establish
- : ending the established status of a body, in particular a church, given such status by law, such as the Church of England
- disestablish + -ment
- : the separation of church and state (specifically in this context it is the political movement of the 1860s in Britain)
- anti- + disestablishment
- : opposition to disestablishment
- antidisestablishment + -arian
- : an advocate of opposition to disestablishment (alternatively, but less likely and quite similar in meaning, "opposed to disestablishmentarians", depending on what "anti-" is taken to belong to)
- antidisestablishmentarian + -ism
- : the movement or ideology of advocates of opposition to disestablishment; the movement or ideology that opposes disestablishment
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