fifth column en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From a 1936 radio address by Spanish Nationalist general Emilio Mola, in which he spoke of four of his army columns moving on Madrid and a fifth column (quinta columna) consisting of his militant supporters within the capital, intent on undermining the Republican government from within.
Meanings
-
A group of people which clandestinely undermines a larger group, such as a nation, to which it is expected to be loyal.
True, we have people of the fifth column, and, unfortunately, the sixth column, with us; they have them in every country; but so far in this war the British diplomatic and secret service has not been so successful as that clever, astute brute-man Hitler and his agents.
1940 September 20, The Advertiser, Adelaide, page 24, column 4:The rebels, who in November 1936 had fought to enter and failed, walked in yesterday as troops of the generally recognised Spanish Government, and not a shot was fired at them. The supporters of Franco in the city, the “fifth column” he once spoke of, had been waiting for this moment for more than two years.
1939 March 29, “Madrid gives itself up to Franco”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:Lloyd George's belief in a revolutionary fifth column [the term hadn't been coined then] driving the strike was replicated on Fleet Street. On October 1 [1919] The Times thundered: "The attempt of the strike leaders to subvert Constitutional government in this country and to starve the nation into acquiescence in their revolutionary designs will be defeated, as other onslaughts have been defeated, by the firmness of the people in defence of its liberties."
2020 January 2, Conrad Landin, “Strife and strikes in post-war Britain”, in Rail, page 52:Subject: A project for the destruction of Monsieur Le Chiffre (alias 'The Number', 'Herr Nummer', 'Herr Ziffer', etc.), one of the Opposition's chief agents in France and undercover Paymaster of the 'Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace', the Communist-controlled trade union in the heavy and transport industries of Alsace, and as we know, an important fifth column in the event of war with Redland.
1953, Ian Fleming, “Dossier for M”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 14:
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fifth, column.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fifth columns | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| 5th column | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
fifth columnism · fifth columnist
Relateds
agent provocateur · Trojan horse
Translations (30)
fr cinquième colonne (group of people) · pl piąta kolumna (group of people) · be пя́тая кало́на (group of people) · cs vnitřní nepřítel (group of people) · sq kolonë e pestë (group of people) · ar الطَّابُورُ الخَامِس (group of people) · es quinta columna (group of people) · pt quinta coluna (group of people) · de Fünfte Kolonne (group of people) · fa ستون پنجم (group of people) · ru пя́тая коло́нна (group of people) · fi viides kolonna (group of people) · ka მეხუთე კოლონა (group of people) · nl vijfde colonne (group of people) · uk п'я́та коло́на (group of people) · cs pátá kolona (group of people) · ca cinquena columna (group of people) · ja 第五列 (group of people) · sv femtekolonn (group of people) · ja 第５列 (group of people) · hy հինգերորդ շարասյուն (group of people) · cmn 第五縱隊 /第五纵队 (group of people) · th แนวที่ห้า (group of people) · mk петта колона (group of people) · th ไส้ศึก (group of people) · ca quinta columna (group of people) · el πέμπτη φάλαγγα (group of people) · bg пе́та коло́на (group of people) · ta ஐந்தாம்படை (group of people) · kk бесінші лек (group of people)