Birthers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of individuals who propagate the theory regarding the birthplace of a political figure, often questioning their eligibility for office
2. Those who assert that a public leader was not born in the country they claim to be from, impacting their legitimacy
3. Individuals engaged in promoting the belief that certain high-profile persons were not born where they assert, leading to considerable political controversy

Etymology: "Birthers" is the plural of "birther," a noun formed from "birth" with the agent suffix "-er," the ending that turns a verb or noun into the name of someone who does a thing. A birther is, in effect, a person who takes up the question of where a political figure was born. The term became prominent in American politics around 2008 and 2009, when a movement questioned whether Barack Obama had been born in the United States and so could be eligible to be president. The word's structure is plain, but its meaning rests on a single idea: the reasoning turns on a document-free question of origin rather than on policy or record. The suffix sits in the same family as "believer" or "reader," which is why the word reads as naming a group of adherents rather than a single critic. Its use was often as a label applied from outside, and the people so described frequently rejected it.

Synonyms: conspiracy theorists