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Bour·bon¹

(brbən, br-bôɴ)

French royal family descended from Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (1270?-1342), whose members have ruled in France (1589-1793 and 1814-1830), Spain (1700-1868, 1874-1931, and since 1975), and Naples and Sicily (1734-1860).

Bour·bon²

(bûrbən)

A political reactionary, especially a conservative Democrat in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[Partly in reference to the reactionary rule of the BOURBON family in France between 1815 and 1830 after its restoration to the monarchy, and partly in reference to the southern US origins of BOURBON whiskey .]

bour·bon

(bûrbən)

A whiskey distilled from a fermented mash containing not less than 51 percent corn in addition to malt and rye.

[After the region of Bourbon County, Kentucky, which formerly included much of the northeastern part of the state.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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