Word of the Day

car·pet·bag·ger/ˈkɑrpɪtˌbægər/
–noun

1. U.S. History. a Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War and became active in Republican politics, esp. so as to profiteer from the unsettled social and political conditions of the area during Reconstruction.

2. any opportunistic or exploitive outsider: Our bus company has served this town for years, but now the new one run by carpetbaggers from the city is stealing our business.
[Origin: 1865–70, Americanism; carpetbag + -er1; so called because they came South carrying their belongings in carpetbags]

—Related forms: car·pet·bag·ger·y, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.