antebellum

(ăn'tē-bĕl'əm)
adj.
Belonging to the period before a war, especially the American Civil War.

[Latin ante bellum : ante, before + bellum, war.]

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[ܖæntēܒbelǝm]

ܖæntēˈbelǝm adj. occurring or existing before a particular war, especially the Civil War: the conventions of the antebellum South.

Etymology: mid 19th cent.: from Latin, from ante ‘before’ and bellum ‘war.’

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Dating before or existing before the US Civil War (1861–1865).

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(an-tee-bel-uhm)

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.”

Before the war. Usually used to describe the United States before the U.S. Civil War (1861-65). Typically spelled antebellum in English.

See words rhyming with "antebellum."