A person who has an excessive devotion to their own country, group, or cause, often at the expense of fairness to others.
From French Chauvin, a surname based on Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary French soldier known for his exaggerated patriotism. The character became a symbol of blind nationalism in 19th-century French literature and plays, eventually entering English as a common noun for extreme partisanship.
Nicolas Chauvin was supposedly a soldier so devoted to Napoleon that even after Waterloo, he clung to fanatical French nationalism—so amusing that playwrights turned him into a comedic character, and his name became the word we use for anyone unreasonably loyal to their side.
Named after Nicolas Chauvin, an invented/exaggerated male figure from French popular culture. The term derives masculine identity and became specifically 'male chauvinism,' encoding assumptions that excessive nationalism/loyalty were distinctly male traits.
Use 'chauvinism' or 'jingoism' without gendered assumptions; avoid defaulting 'chauvinism' to mean 'male chauvinism' specifically, as it applies equally to all genders.
["jingoism","nationalist extremism","excessive group loyalty"]
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