ANTEBELLUM Definition & Meaning

antebellum

[ an-tee-bel-uhm ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

before or existing before a war, especially the American Civil War; prewar:
the antebellum plantations of Georgia.

antebellum

/ ˌæ�Գ�ɪˈ��ɛ��ə�� /

adjective

of or during the period before a war, esp the American Civil War
the antebellum South

antebellum

A descriptive term for objects and institutions, especially houses, that originated three or four decades before the Civil War . Antebellum is Latin for “before the war.”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of antebellum¹

First recorded in 1860–65, antebellum is from Latin ante bellum “before the war”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of antebellum¹

Latin ante bellum, literally: before the war

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Among Southern intellectuals and their supporters in antebellum America, there were those who defended slavery not just on racial grounds, but as an inherently superior social system.

From

If the design is less ornate, Irvine noted that’s purposeful, pointing out antebellum carriage houses were “a little bit knocked down.”

From

The “antebellum doctrine” of rights at birth was present in the laws of at least six northern states, laying the groundwork for a post-Civil War amendment.

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The ballet concerns the wedding of antebellum South settlers in a Shaker village in Pennsylvania.

From

He also characterized the antebellum North as “the mere cringing vassal of the South” and a section of the country that contained “lords” and “nobles” of its own that comprised an “aristocracy of the skin.”

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