a member of the political faction in medieval Italy originally based on support for the German emperor
2. (modifier)
of or relating to the Ghibellines
Compare Guelph1
Derived forms
Ghibellinism (ˈGhibelˌlinism)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Italian Ghibellino, probably from Middle High German Waiblingen, a Hohenstaufen estate
Ghibelline in American English
(ˈgɪbəˌlin; ˈgɪbəlɪn; ˈgɪbəˌlaɪn)
noun
1.
any member of a political party in medieval Italy that supported the authority of the German emperors in Italy in opposition to the papal party of the Guelphs
adjective
2.
of this party
Word origin
It Ghibellino, for Ger Waiblingen, Hohenstaufen estate in Franconia