Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A traitor who serves as the puppet of the enemy occupying his or her country.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pejorative A traitor who collaborates with the enemy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying force

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Vidkun Quisling, (1887–1945), head of Norway's government during the Nazi occupation (1940–1945).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1940, after Vidkun Quisling (1887–1945), who ruled the Nazi collaborationist government of Norway during World War Two. Romanization of the Danish place name Kvislemark.

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Examples

  • But: marxist "is not a modifier for" quisling "- they are freestanding faults in his panoply of faults.

    Elections - fresh news by plazoo.com 2009

  • Clark also wrote the disgusting recent CiF piece calling for the "quisling" Iraqi translators to be denied asylum.

    2007 Weblog Awards: Anti-War Left Crush Dale and Co 2007

  • The Norwegians—who gave us the term "quisling"—awarded former President Jimmy Carter the Peace Prize

    Hullabaloo 2003

  • At the Coloured University of the Western Cape, students have been consistently resisting a "quisling" Students

    APARTHEID AND THE COLOURED PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA(1) 1972

  • The dictionary definition of "quisling" is a traitor.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • The dictionary definition of "quisling" is a traitor.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • - The head of the Minnesota GOP on Thursday said he didn't intend a Nazi comparison when he used the word "quisling" to describe Republicans who are breaking with their party's gubernatorial candidate.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • - The head of Minnesota Democrats is questioning his GOP counterpart's use of the word "quisling" to describe Republicans who aren't supporting their party's gubernatorial candidate.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • - The head of the Minnesota GOP on Thursday said he didn't intend a Nazi comparison when he used the word "quisling" to describe Republicans who are breaking with their party's gubernatorial candidate.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • The dictionary definition of "quisling" is a traitor.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

Comments

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  • A traitor to one's country, a collaborationist, esp. during the war of 1939-45.

    February 2, 2007

  • What an awful meaning for such a charming word.

    March 19, 2008

  • From the name of Major Vidkun Quisling (1887–1945), the Norwegian army officer and diplomat who ruled Norway on behalf of the German occupying forces from 1940 to 1945.

    August 1, 2008

  • Wow. I clicked on this word to see what the hell it means. I guess I had a clue a year ago. *puzzled*

    Thanks for the additional detail, rolig!

    August 1, 2008

  • I'm afraid I can't really see the charm in this word (as roseandivy does) unless you just have a thing for Q words.

    August 7, 2008

  • Agreed, rolig. It's a quease-making word.

    August 7, 2008

  • good one, yarb. It's a word that leaves me quizzical.

    August 7, 2008

  • I think it's adorable, but I do have a thing for qu- words. I think the "-ling" ending (as in "Earthling") makes it a little cuter. But then, if you have known its meaning for a long time and don't constantly forget it (like I do), I can see how it's not a nice word at all.

    August 7, 2008

  • Yep. It's a "worse than it sounds" word to me.

    August 7, 2008

  • "It's hard to tell whom the sheik loathes more—Al Qaeda or Sunni politicians like Hashemi, who he describes as venal quislings."

    —Nisid Hajari, "After the 'Surge'," Newsweek, July 28, 2008

    August 8, 2008