WORD | DEFINITION |
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AD | Anno Domini – referring to the number of years after the birth of Jesus Christ – used as a time reference. |
allegiance | Loyalty to something – for example, to a leader, a faith or a country. |
armed forces | The army, navy and air force which defend a country in times of peace and war. |
arrested (police) | Taken by the police to a police station and made to stay there to answer questions about illegal actions or activity. |
assault | The criminal act of using physical force against someone or of attacking someone – for example, hitting someone. |
bank holiday | A day when most people have an official day off work and many businesses are closed. A bank holiday can also be called a public holiday. |
baron | A man who has one of the ranks of the British nobility. The title was particularly common during the Middle Ages. |
BC | Before Christ – referring to the number of years before Jesus Christ was born – used as a time reference. |
bishop | A senior member of the clergy in the Christian religion, often in charge of the churches in a particular area |
boom | A sharp rise in something – very often in business activity or the economy. |
brutality | Behaviour towards another which is cruel and violent and causes harm. |
by-election | An election held in a parliamentary constituency or local authority area to fill a vacancy (see also General Election). |
cabinet (government) | A group of senior ministers who are responsible for controlling government policy. |
casualties (medical) | People who are wounded or killed (for example, in a war). |
charter (government) | An official written statement which describes the rights and responsibilities of a state and its citizens. |
chieftain | The leader of a clan in Scotland or Ireland. |
civil disobedience | The refusal of members of the public to obey laws, often because they want to protest against political issues. |
civil law | The legal system that deals with disputes between people or groups of people. |
civil service | The departments within the government which manage the business of running the country – people who work for the government can be called civil servants. |
civil war | A war between groups who live in the same country. |
clan | A group of people or families who live under the rule of a chieftain and may be descendants of the same person – a term used traditionally in Scotland. |
clergy | Religious leaders, used here to describe religious leaders in Christian churches. |
coalition | A partnership between different political parties. |
colonise | Inhabit and take control of another country. People who colonise are called colonists. |
commemorate | Show that something or someone is remembered. |
conquered | Beaten in battle. |
constituency | A specific area where the voters who live in that place (its constituents) can elect an MP to represent them in Parliament. |
constitution (law) | The legal structure of established laws and principles which is used to govern a country. |
convention (government) | An agreement, often between countries, about particular rules or codes of behaviour. |
criminal law | The legal system that deals with illegal activities. |
decree (law) | Official order, law or decision. |
democratic country | A country which is governed by people who are elected by the population to represent them in Parliament. |
devolution | The passing of power from a central government to another group at a regional or local level, which can then be called a devolved administration. |
dialect | A form of a language spoken by a particular group or people living in a particular area. |
domestic policies | Political decisions that relate to what is happening within a country (as opposed to in another country). |
electoral register | The official list of all the people in a country who are allowed to vote in an election. |
electorate | All the people who are allowed to vote in an election. |
eligible | Allowed by law. |
ethnic origin | The country of birth, someone’s race or the nationality of someone when they were born/the customs and place from which a person and their family originated (or came from). |
executed | Killed as a punishment. |
first past the post | A system of election in which the candidate with the largest number of votes in a particular constituency wins a seat in Parliament. |
franchise | The right to vote. |
General Election | An event in which all the citizens of a country who are allowed to vote choose the people they wish to represent them in their government. |
government policies | Official ideas and beliefs that are agreed by a political party about how to govern the Country. |
guilty | Found by a court to have done something which is illegal. |
heir | Someone who will legally receive a person’s money or possessions after their death. The heir to the throne is the person who will become the next king or queen. |
House (history) | A family (for example, House of York). |
House of Commons | That part of the Houses of Parliament where MPs who are elected by the voting public debate political issues. |
House of Lords | That part of the Houses of Parliament where people who have inherited their place or been chosen by the government debate political issues. |
household | A home and the people who live in it/something that relates to a home. (For example, household chores are tasks that are done around the house, such as cleaning and cooking.) |
Houses of Parliament | The building in London where the House of Commons and House of Lords meet. |
illegal | Something which the law does not allow. |
infrastructure | Structured network that is necessary for successful operation of a business or transport system – for example, roads or railways. |
innocent (law) | Found by a court not to have done something illegal. |
judge | The most important official in court. The judge makes sure what happens in court is fair and legal. |
judiciary | All the judges in a country. Together, they are responsible for using the law of the land in the correct way. |
jury (legal) | People who are chosen to sit in court, listen to information about a crime, and decide if someone is guilty or innocent. |
legal | Allowed to do so by law. |
legislative power | The power to make laws. |
liberty | Freedom. |
magistrate | A person who acts as a judge in a court case where the crime is not a serious one. |
marital status | Information about whether a person is single, married, separated or divorced. This is often asked for on official forms. |
media, the | All the organisations which give information to the public, i.e. newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the internet. |
medieval/Middle Ages | In history, the period between 1066 and about 1500. |
monarch | The king or queen of a country. |
national issues | Political problems that can affect everyone who lives in a country. |
nationalised | Bought and then controlled by central government – relating to an industry or service that was previously owned privately. |
nobility | The people in a country who belong to the highest social class, some of whom may have titles – for example, Lord, Duke, Baron. |
office, to be in | To be in power in government. |
Olympics | International sporting event held every four years |
opposition | In the House of Commons, the largest political party which is not part of the government is officially known as the opposition. |
Pale (history) | Part of Ireland governed by the English. |
party politics | The shared ideas and beliefs of an organised group of politicians. |
patron saint | A Christian saint who is believed to protect a particular area or group of people. |
penalty (law) | Punishment for breaking the law. |
Pope, the | The head of the Roman Catholic Church. |
practise a religion | Live according to the rules and beliefs of a religion. |
Prime Minister | The politician who leads the government. |
prohibit/prohibition | Make something illegal. |
proportional representation | A system of election in which political parties are allowed a number of seats in Parliament that represents their share of the total number of votes cast. |
Protestants | Christians who are not members of the Roman Catholic Church. |
public body | A governmental department or a group of people who represent or work for the government and who work for the good of the general public. |
public house/pub | A place where adults can buy and drink alcohol. |
Reformation, the | The religious movement in the 16th century that challenged the authority of the Pope and established Protestant churches in Europe. |
refugee | A person who must leave the country where they live, often because of a war or for political reasons. |
residence | The place where someone lives. |
rival viewpoints | Opinions held by different groups of people. |
rural | Countryside. |
scrutinise | Examine all the details. |
seat (Parliament) | A constituency. |
sentence | A punishment imposed by a court. |
shadow cabinet | Senior MPs of a political party not in government. |
sheriff (law) | A judge in Scotland. |
slavery | A system in which people bought and sold other people (slaves) who were forced to work without pay. |
sonnet | A poem which is 14 lines long and rhymes in a particular way. |
Speaker, the | The member of the House of Commons who controls the way issues are debated in Parliament. |
stand for office | Apply to be elected – for example, as an MP or councillor. |
strike, to go on | Refuse to work in order to protest against something. |
successor (government) | A person who comes after another and takes over an office or receives some kind of power – for example, a son who becomes king when his father dies is his successor. |
suspend | To stop something from happening or operating, usually for a short time. |
terrorism | Violence used by people who want to force a government to do something. The violence is usually random and unexpected, so that no one can feel really safe from it. |
The Phone Book | A book which contains names, addresses and phone numbers of organisations, businesses and individuals. |
theft | The criminal act of stealing something from a person, building or place. |
trade union | An association of workers formed to protect its members. |
treaty | An official written agreement between countries or governments. |
uprising | A violent revolt or rebellion against an authority. |
voluntary work | Work which someone does because they want to and which they do for free, i.e. they do not receive any payment. |
volunteer | Someone who works for free or who offers to do something without payment (see voluntary work). |
war effort | The work people did in order to help the country in any way they could during wartime. |