Dictionary entry

Luddite

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Lud″dite (?), n. One of a number of riotous persons in England, who for six years (1811-17) tried to prevent the use of labor-saving machinery by breaking it, burning factories, etc.; — so called from Ned Lud, a half-witted man who some years previously had broken stocking frames. J. & H. Smith.H. Martineau.