The political ideology or principles of the Girondins; moderate republicanism as opposed to radical revolutionary measures.
From 'Girondin' (a member of a French Revolutionary faction) plus '-ism' (Greek '-ismos,' denoting a system or ideology). The '-ism' suffix made this political philosophy a named doctrine during the Revolution.
Girondism shows how quickly new political ideologies spawn '-ism' labels—the Girondins existed for only about a decade before being crushed during the Reign of Terror, yet their brief movement got a permanent '-ism' label. This reveals how language immortalizes even short-lived political movements in historical vocabulary.
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