Pilgrim Fathers
Preserved but no longer current.
The term applied to the English founders of Plymouth Colony, Mas- sachusetts, in 1620. They belonged to the church founded at Leyden by John Robinson. Having obtained a grant of land in New Jersey they came over from Holland and sailed from Plymouth in the Mayflower on September 6th, 1620. The party consisted of 78 men and 24 women.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Pilgrim Fathers” mean?
The term applied to the English founders of Plymouth Colony, Mas- sachusetts, in 1620. They belonged to the church founded at Leyden by John Robinson. Having obtained a grant of land in New Jersey they came over from Holland and sailed from Plymouth in the Mayflower on September 6th, 1620. The party consisted of 78 men and 24 women.
Is “Pilgrim Fathers” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.