fifth column

noun
1.
a group of people who act traitorously and subversively out of a secret sympathy with an enemy of their country.
2.
(originally) Franco sympathizers in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War: so called in allusion to a statement in 1936 that the insurgents had four columns marching on Madrid and a fifth column of sympathizers in the city ready to rise and betray it.
Related forms
fifth columnist, noun
Examples from the web for fifth column
  • Loyalists could have become a fifth column in many communities.
  • The policy of not allowing refugees to return was partly defensive, to avoid a fifth column.
  • Each state's total number of reported deaths is listed in the fifth column.
  • The legal source or related statute is noted in the fifth column of the table.
  • Closely follow the guidance provided in the fifth column which specifies the suggested revenue type.
  • In the fifth column, write down the materials you will need to conduct your evaluation.
  • The limits for the depressurized conduction cooldown accident are given in the fifth column.
  • The third grade enrollment for each school is given in the fifth column.
  • The fifth column contains a remark code, if present.
British Dictionary definitions for fifth column

fifth column

noun
1.
(originally) a group of Falangist sympathizers in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War who were prepared to join the four columns of insurgents marching on the city
2.
any group of hostile or subversive infiltrators; an enemy in one's midst
Derived Forms
fifth columnist, noun
Word Origin and History for fifth column
n.

1936, from Gen. Emilio Mola's comment at the siege of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War that he would take the city with his four columns of troops outside it and his "fifth column" (quinta columna) in the city.

fifth column in Culture

fifth column definition


People willing to cooperate with an aggressor against their own country. The term originated in a remark by Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator, that he was marching on Madrid with four columns of troops, and that there was a “fifth column” of sympathizers within the city ready to help.

Idioms and Phrases with fifth column

fifth column

A secret subversive group that works against a country or organization from the inside, as in The government feared that there was a fifth column working to oppose its policies during the crisis. This term was invented by General Emilio Mola during the Spanish Civil War in a radio broadcast on October 16, 1936, in which he said that he had una quinta columna (“a fifth column”) of sympathizers for General Franco among the Republicans holding the city of Madrid, and it would join his four columns of troops when they attacked. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway and later extended to any traitorous insiders.
Encyclopedia Article for fifth column

clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation's solidarity by any means at their disposal. The term is credited to Emilio Mola Vidal, a Nationalist general during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). As four of his army columns moved on Madrid, the general referred to his militant supporters within the capital as his "fifth column," intent on undermining the loyalist government from within

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