a secret organization of White Southerners formed after the US Civil War to fight Black emancipation and Northern domination
2.
a secret organization of White Protestant Americans, mainly in the South, who use violence against Black people, Jewish people, and other minority groups
Derived forms
Ku Kluxer or Ku Klux Klanner
noun
Ku Kluxism
noun
Word origin
C19 Ku Klux, probably based on Greek kukloscircle + Klanclan