▪ I. rebel, a. and n.1
(ˈrɛbəl)
Also 4–6 rebele, 4–7 rebell(e, 6 rebald.
[a. F. rebelle adj. (12th c.) and n., ad. L. rebellis rebellious, f. re- re- + bellum war.]
A. adj. (Formerly common in predicative use, freq. with const. against or to; now only attributive, and sometimes capable of being taken as an attrib. use of the n.)
1. a. Refusing obedience or allegiance, or offering armed opposition, to the rightful or actual ruler or ruling power of the country.
| pred. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1625 Adrian..temprede hom vol wel, & made hom sone milde ynou, þo hii were rebel. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 222 Þe flemed ageyn þe kyng ros eft full rebelle. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 591 Cleopatra, Rebel un-to the toun of rome is he. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 108 Þe hertys of þi subgitz sall be rebell to þy gouernaill. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxii. 246 Whyle Kyng William was thus occupyed in Normandy, the Northumbers waxte sterne & rebell. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 88 b, And where as the duke of Geldre is subiect to the Emperor, is he not yet at this day..rebell? |
| attrib. 1382 Wyclif Isa. xli. 12 Thi rebel men thei shul ben as thoȝ thei ben not. ― 1 Macc. iii. 20 Thei cummen to us in rebelle multitude. 1616 J. Lane Cont. Sqr.'s T. xi. 40 His ffather now heere sendes to her her conquerd rebell sonn, bound prisoner. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 484 The Rebel King Doubl'd that sin in Bethel and in Dan. Ibid. vi. 647 Amaze..and terrour seis'd the rebel Host. 1726 Pope Odyss. xxiv. 611 Now by the sword and now the jav'lin fall The rebel-race. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. lxxvii, Wahab's rebel brood, who dared divest The prophet's tomb of all its pious spoil. 1861 Lowell Pickens-and-Stealin's Rebell. Pr. Wks. 1890 V. 82 To acknowledge the independence of the Rebel States. 1944 H. Fast Freedom Road 167 It was not essentially a problem of reconstruction, not even a problem of readmission of the rebel states into the Union. 1963 Times 11 May 11/5 Dubbed the Rebel City for espousing the cause of Perkin Warbeck in 1492, Cork has always maintained a fighting reputation. |
b. Consisting of, belonging or falling to, in command of, rebels.
| 1682 Dryden & Lee Duke of Guise ii. ii, He was the author of the rebel-league. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. vi. (1869) I. 119 The rebel ranks were broken. 1821 Shelley Hellas 529 If the rebel fleet Had anchored in the port. Ibid. 1020 Now shall..British skill..Thunder-strike rebel victory. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan III. 138 The seamen, having the same fear of the rebel chief..stuck to the shipping. 1861 O. W. Norton Army Lett., 1861–65 (1903) 24 The rebel camps are within two miles of us. 1937 Granta 3 Feb. 219/1 Seeing the contrast between the military efficiency of the rebel army and the unpreparedness of the people for war [at the time of the Spanish Civil War 1936–39]. 1980 Times 3 Jan. 1/7 The sources said..that the Russians were using sophisticated M124 helicopter gunships against rebel strongholds. |
2. a. Disobedient to a superior or to some higher power; contumacious, refractory. † Also const. of, and with inf.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28094 Gayn haly kyrk was i rebell. 1340 Ayenb. 69 To þe rede of oure lhorde ofte hi byeþ rebel. 1389 Eng. Gilds 95 Qwo-so be rebele of his tonge aȝein þe aldirman. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 145 [He] Deyed accursyd, rebel to paye his dymes. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) v. x. 376/2 Yf he be ouer proude & to rebell to his mayster. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxix. 307 He was rude and rebell agaynst the commaundementes of holy churche. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 83 The third best absent is condemn'd, Convict by flight, and Rebel to all Law. 1685 Dryden Misc. ii. 454 Sinai..where was receiv'd the Law, That ought to keep the Rebel World in aw. 1742 Young Nt. Th. iv. 328 A rebel universe!..not one exempt! 1821 Shelley Hellas 301 To speak in thunder to the rebel world. 1931 Ann. Reg. 1930 ii. 49 The Prime Minister's speech, as was to be expected, was considered unsatisfactory by the ‘rebel’ group in the Labour Party. 1976 Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 18 Nov. 17/5 Action would now be concentrated on Albert Johnson quay where most of the rebel dockers worked. |
† b. Said of animals. Obs. rare.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 455 Þe rauen so ronk þat rebel was euer. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 776 Yf they be rebel, so let hem stonde ffastyng oon day and nyght in yokis bonde. |
c. transf. of things.
| 1340 Ayenb. 68 Þe herte þet is rebel and hard. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶192 Right as reson is rebel to god right so is..sensualitee rebel to reson. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 625 From a pure heart commaund thy rebell will. 1647 Trapp Comm. Matt. vi. 16 [It] subdues rebell-flesh, which with fullnesse of bread will wax wanton. 1702 Rowe Tamerlane iv. i. 1752 All my Rebel-blood assists the Fair. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche July xv, She set the lamp beneath a chair, and cloked..its rebel lustre from the eye. |
† d. Of ulcers: = rebellious 3. Obs.—1
| 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terap. 2 D iv, The curacyon of vlceres, nat inueterate, but contumaced and rebell. |
3. Of words, actions, etc.: Characterized by rebelliousness; characteristic of a rebel or rebels.
| c 1393 Chaucer Scogan 23 Þe ilke rebel word that thou hast spoken. 1700 Congreve Way of World v. vii, Must I live to be confiscated at this rebel-rate? 1715–20 Pope Iliad xv. 248 Desists at length his rebel-war to wage. 1755 H. Walpole Corr. (1837) I. 296 However rebel this may sound at your Court my Gothic spirit is hurt. 1812 H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr., Living Lustres viii, Unaccustom'd to rebel commotion. |
B. n.
1. a. One who resists, or rises in arms against, the established governing power; one who refuses or renounces allegiance or obedience to his sovereign or the government of his country.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1466 He [Priam] was faryn to fight in a fer londe, To riche hym of Rebelles þat of þe rewme held. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. ix. (1885) 129 When such a rebell hath more riches than his souerayne lorde. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 56 The rebelles had encamped them on a Hill. 1612 Davies Why Ireland, etc. (1747) 113 We find the degenerat and disobedient English called Rebelles, but the Irish which were not in the King's peace are called Enemies. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. x, I could..give Liberty, and take it away, and no Rebels among all my Subjects. 1778 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) I. 158, I know that for such sentiments I am called a rebel. 1902 Kipling Traffics & Discov. (1904) 32, I shot my Bible full of bullets after Bloemfontein went... Take it and pray over it before we Federals help the British knock hell out of you rebels. 1966 BBC Handbk. 1966 97 Stanleyville radio was in the hands of the rebels in the Congo (Leopoldville) Republic. 1976 Daily Tel. 20 July 4/2 Armed men, believed to be Moslem rebels, ambushed a bus in the southern Philippines on Sunday. |
† b. In collect. sense (cf. enemy). Obs.—1
| 1600 J. Dymmok Ireland (1843) 33 The small losse we susteyned in this place was multiplied upon the rebell by our quarter and skoutmasters. |
c. Law. One who resists or disobeys a legal command or summons. Now only spec. in Sc. Law: A debtor who disobeys a charge on letters of horning.
| 1592 Sc. Act 12 Jas. VI §129 (1597) 119 Quhen-ever onie persones, that hes fund sovertie to vnderly the Law, compeiris not at the day appoynted, and their-throw are decerned to be denunced rebelles, as fugitiues fra the law. 1607 Cowell Interpr. s.v. Rebellion, Rebell is sometime attributed to him that wilfully breaketh a lawe.., sometime to a villein disobeying his Lord. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 86 The lands and tenements of felonis (of rebelles at the horne) quhilk are escheit induring their lyftime. Ibid., Burrow Lawes 140 b, The rebelles (disobedient) and perturbers within the burgh. 1666–88 Dallas Stiles (1697) 289 Being..orderly denunced Rebel and put to the Horn, by vertue of Letters of Horning raised, used and execute against him. 1752 A. M{supc}Douall Inst. Laws Scot. iii. iii. II. 260 It was for his not surrendering his person, (in default of payment) which was in his power, that he was pronounced rebel. a 1768 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. ii. v. §56 If the debtor obey not the will of the letters within the days mentioned in them, the messenger may immediately after publish the diligence by denouncing the debtor rebel. 1882 Watson Bell's Dict. Law Scot. s.v. |
d. A supporter of the American cause during the War of Independence (1775–83).
| 1775 Massachusetts Spy 3 May 3/1 The commanding officer accosted the militia in words to this effect, ‘Disperse you damn'd rebels!’ 1788 Ann. Reg. 1776 i. 181 Gen. Clinton, with two brigades of British..were sent to make an attempt upon Rhode Island... The rebels having abandoned the island at their approach, they took possession of it without the loss of a man. 1847 Knickerbocker XXIX. 54 Mrs. Mowatt is..a great granddaughter of one of those old ‘rebels’ who signed the Declaration of Independence. |
e. A supporter of the Southern, or Confederate, cause during the American Civil War (1861–5); hence, by extension, used colloq. for southerner 2. Chiefly U.S.
| 1861 E. Cowell Diary 15 Apr. in Cowells in Amer. (1934) 290 [The] proceeding caused the necessary diversion of ‘the rebels'’ course. 1864 Lowell Gen. McClellan's Report Pr. Wks. 1890 V. 107 General McClellan, by the admission of the Rebels themselves, had Richmond at his mercy. 1895 W. H. Chambliss Diary 305 The malignant epithets, ‘Yankee’ and ‘Rebels’,..were invented by fanatics and foreigners to aggravate our interstate quarrel. 1905 A. C. Rice Sandy 123 ‘Was he a rebel?’..‘He was a Confederate, sir! I never knew a rebel.’ 1929 Amer. Speech IV. 344 Rebel, a Southerner. 1938 Oklahoma Supreme Ct. Rep. CLXXXIII. A. 509/2 The Northern man is often referred to as ‘Yankee’ and the Southern man as ‘Rebel’. 1959 W. Peters Southern Temper xiii. 211 [The] publisher of the Augusta Courier..exudes pleasantness and good will, even when his caller is a Northern newspaperman or writer. ‘Well,’ he said to one such not long ago, ‘I guess you've come down here to give us rebels hell.’ |
2. a. One who, or that which, resists authority or control of any kind.
| 1340 Ayenb. 69 Þos hy byeþ rebels to þe heste of oure lhorde. a 1400 Vernon MS. in Hampole's Wks. (1896) II. 345 To chastise the rebel..beo wiþ-drawyng..þe occasion of his sunne. 1484 Caxton Fables of Auian xxi, The cursyd & rebelles whiche doo no thynge but playe with dees and cardes. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 104 God,..Ceis not to send thy Sanctis sune support,..For thay Rebellis with rage do resort. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iv. ix. 14 That Life, a very Rebell to my will, May hang no longer on me. 1665 Glanvill Scepsis Sci. xiii. 76 'Tis Imagination is the Rebel, Reason contradicts its impious suggestions. 1738 Wesley Dryden's ‘Creator Spirit, by whose Aid’ iv, Create all new, our Wills controul; Subdue the Rebel in our Soul. 1822 Byron Werner iv. i, You are not jealous Of me, I trust, my pretty rebel! 1955 N.Y. Times 27 Oct. 28/2 Mr. Dean..is a mixed-up rebel because his father lacks decisiveness and strength. |
b. rebel without a cause: the title of a cinematographic film released in the U.S. in 1955, applied to a (young) person whose aggressive behaviour is attributed to feelings of frustration or insecurity rather than to loyalty to a particular cause.
| [1955 N.Y. Times 27 Oct. 28/2 It is a violent, brutal and disturbing picture of modern teenagers that Warner Brothers presents in its new melodrama..‘Rebel Without a Cause’. Young people neglected by their parents or given no understanding and moral support by fathers and mothers who are themselves unable to achieve balance and security in their homes are the bristling heroes and heroines.] 1963 Times 30 May 15/6 It is a story of a rebel-without-a-cause..and of the gradual disillusioning of a younger man..with the romantic image that at first glance he presents. |
3. Comb., as rebel-high, rebel-like advbs.; rebel-hearted, rebel-held adjs.; rebel yell, a characteristic shout or battle-cry uttered by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War; also transf.
| 1926 C. Day-Lewis in Oxford Poetry 19 What sense Have they the pioneer-minded, the rebel-hearted, If man's fulfilment rest on no ‘perhaps’ Outside him? 1966 BBC Handbk. 1966 98 The Service's East African Unit..became..the only source of news from rebel-held territory [in the Congo Republic]. |
| 1719 Young Brothers iii. Wks. 1757 II. 240 Demetrius borrows those [wings], To mount full rebel-high. |
| 1605 Shakes. Lear iv. iii. 16 (Q. 1) It seemed, she was a queene Ouer her passion, Who most rebell-like, sought to be King ore her. a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 73 How he seems arm'd for resistance, rebel like! |
| 1863 A. J. L. Fremantle Jrnl. 2 July in Three Months in Southern States 265 The Southern troops, when charging, or to express their delight, always yell in a manner peculiar to themselves... The Confederate officers declare that the rebel yell has a particular merit, and always produces a salutary and useful effect upon their adversaries. A corps is sometimes spoken of as a ‘good yelling regiment’. 1868 Harper's Mag. Sept. 488/1 A tall woman..uttered a long, piercing cry, which Humphreys afterward described as ‘a rebel yell’, and Alec as ‘a keen whoop’. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind vi. 121 Stuart Tarleton's voice rose, in an exultant shout, ‘Yee-aay-ee!’ as if he were on the hunting field. And she heard for the first time..the Rebel yell. 1945 S. Lewis Cass Timberlane (1946) xxix. 193 No dance at the Heather Country Club was canonical without the presence of Jay Laverick, emitting the rebel yell. 1974 P. Ruell Death takes Low Road x. 126 For God's sake, lassie, can you no' keep your voice down to less than a rebel yell? |
▪ II. † rebel, n.2 Obs.
[f. rebel v. (perh. on analogy of prec.) or ad. med.L. rebellum, -ium (Du Cange).]
Rebellion.
| c 1400 Rule St. Benet 46 Lauerd for his merci giue vs sua obediens and mekenes at halde, and rebel at fle, þat [etc.]. 1444 Rolls of Parlt. V. 104/1 The secunde rebell of the seid Walssh men, the which arosen with Owen of Glan⁓doure. c 1470 Harding Chron. xxx. viii, His subiect, or another wight, That with rebell vnlawful kill hym might. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 75 In my opinion it is a manifest rebell agaynst the holy Scriptures. 1618 Raleigh in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 38 If I had resisted..the rebells and spoils which my companyes would have made. |
▪ III. rebel, v.
(rɪˈbɛl)
Also 4–8 rebell, (4–6 -e).
[ad. F. rebeller (14th c.), ad. L. rebellāre to make war again, to revolt, f. re- re- 2 c + bellāre to fight, make war, f. bellum war.]
1. a. intr. To rise in opposition or armed resistance against the rightful or established ruler or government of one's country. Const. against, † from, to.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce ix. 649 He duelt furth in-to the land, Thame that rebelland war warrand. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 196 The king of Puile, which was tho, Thoghte ayein Rome to rebelle. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. iii. (1885) 114 Bi cause the commons..haue not rebellid or beth hardy to rebelle. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cii. 122 The kyng ordayned therle of Salisbury..into the northe parties,..for the Scottes had rebelled agayne to hym. 1560 Whitehorne Ord. Souldiours (1588) 35 b, The same towne beeing rebelled from the French men,..the Venetians..had laid the streete full of artillerie. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxviii. 240 They rebelled, and would have a mortall man for their King. 1718 Free-thinker No. 56 ¶9 It is astonishing..the People should ever rebell for Slavery. 1767 Junius Lett. xxxv. 163 You would not be the first prince..against whom they have rebelled. 1863 W. Phillips Speeches xix. 446 The government..deserves to be rebelled against. |
b. To resist, oppose, or be disobedient to, some one having authority or rule.
| 1340 Ayenb. 28 Þo rebeleþ þe enuyous uor to ssende and to destrue be his miȝte. 1382 Wyclif Numb. xxvi. 9 In the dissencyoun of Chore, whanne aȝens the Lord thei rebelden. 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. (W. de W.) vi. xiv. 199 The faders herte is sore greuyd yf his chyldren rebell ayenst hym. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 17 Rebellyng agaynst theyr prelates & curates. 1566 Pasquine in a Traunce 50 b, Howe wilt thou that they should be honest, if in their cursed othe, they rebel from Christe. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iii. §69. 309 To take vengeance of such as obstinately rebell against his will. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 179 This is servitude, To serve th' unwise, or him who hath rebelld Against his worthier. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam iv. xx, They..bend beneath the spell Of that young maiden's speech, and to their chiefs rebel. |
c. transf. or fig. in various contexts: To offer resistance, exhibit opposition, to feel or manifest repugnance, etc.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s Prol. 5, I wol nat rebelle Agayn youre lust; a tale wol I telle. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 379 His Grace sayes that, which his flesh rebells against. 1634 Heywood Maidenhead lost iv. Wks. 1874 IV. 151 My blood rebells against my reason. 1738 Johnson London 1, Tho' grief and fondness in my breast rebel, When injur'd Thales bids the town farewell. 1781 Cowper Retirement 16 Thus Conscience pleads her cause..Though long rebelled against, not yet suppressed. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 648 Amorous adulation, till the maid Rebell'd against it. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §2. 354 The temper of the whole people rebelled against so lawless a usurpation. |
† d. refl., and with it. Obs. rare.
| 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 125 Quhen ever a baroun risis to mak were on his king, or rebell him in ony thing to cum agaynis him, he fallis in the crime of lese mageste. 1656 S. H. Gold. Law 68 Yet it kill'd Achan, and infinite Innocents enough..to have rebell'd it. |
2. trans. To oppose rebelliously. rare.
| c 1450 Holland Howlat 562 Quhen they rebellit the crovne, and couth the kyng deir. 1908 A. S. M. Hutchinson Once aboard Lugger iv. ii. 219 To-day the empress sway of conventionality is rarely rebelled. |
Hence † reˈbelled ppl. a., in active sense; in quot. absol. Obs.
| 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 737, I..shall soon, Armed with thy might, rid Heav'n of these rebell'd. |