Definition of partisan

< partisan

partita >

par·ti·san² also par·ti·zan    (pärt-zn) KEY 

NOUN:

A weapon having a blade with lateral projections mounted on the end of a long shaft, used chiefly in the 16th and 17th centuries.

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ETYMOLOGY:
French partizane, from Italian dialectal *(arma) partisana, partisan (weapon), feminine sing. of partisano, supporter ; see partisan¹