Yorkists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Members or supporters of the House of York, a faction in the English Wars of the Roses ; individuals aligned with the Yorkist claim to the English throne during the 15th century conflict ; people advocating for the interests and lineage of the York family in the dynastic struggle for power
2. Adherents of the York family faction who contested the throne of England in the 1400s ; followers backing the House of York in their rivalry with the Lancastrians during the Wars of the Roses ; participants favoring Yorkist rule and leadership amidst historic English civil strife
3. Supporters of the York lineage engaged in the 15th-century English civil wars ; those associated with the Yorkist faction competing for royal supremacy against Lancaster ; advocates for the political and military cause of the House of York within medieval English history

Etymology: The plural of "Yorkist" takes its origin from the city of York, in northern England, whose name goes back to the Roman settlement "Eboracum." The family name came from the Dukes of York, a royal line descended from Edward III through his fifth son, Edmund of Langley. Their badge was the white rose, which is why the conflict of the 1400s is often called the Wars of the Roses, though that name itself was popularised much later. The suffix "-ist" denotes a follower or adherent, as in "royalist" or "socialist." Adding it to "York" produced a label for anyone who backed the House of York in its struggle with the rival House of Lancaster for the English crown. Because the term is built simply from a place name plus a suffix, it is a transparent coinage rather than a word with a surprising detour through another language.