Brewer's: Nonconformists

The 2,000 clergymen who, in 1662, left the Church of England, rather than conform or submit to the conditions of the Act of Uniformity —i.e. “unfeigned assent to all and everything contained in the Book of Common Prayer.” The word is loosely used for Dissenters generally.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Related Content