forty-eighter

noun

A European who participated in or supported the Revolutions of 1848.

Meanings

forty-eighter1

nounforty-eighter (plural forty-eighters)

plural forty-eighters · alternative Forty-Eighter · alternative 48er

  1. historicalA European who participated in or supported the Revolutions of 1848.

    The Wisconsin Republicans sought to placate the Germans by nominating the forty-eighter Karl Roeser as state treasurer.

    2001, Frank Trommler, Elliott Shore, editors, The German-American Encounter […] , Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page 27
  2. historicalAn early participant of the California Gold Rush, arriving in California in 1848.

    The forty-eighters were already in California when the gold rush of forty-nine brought thousands of people […]

    2008, Edward Joseph Beverly, editor, Chasing the Sun: A Reader's Guide to Novels Set in the American West, Sunstone Press, →ISBN, page 236

Forty-Eighter2

nounForty-Eighter (plural Forty-Eighters)

plural Forty-Eighters

  1. Alternative letter-case form of forty-eighter.
Cite this entry
APA

forty-eighter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forty-eighter

MLA

“forty-eighter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forty-eighter. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forty-eighter,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forty-eighter.

Source: forty-eighter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.