Vidkun Quisling - Quisling As A Noun

Quisling As A Noun

During World War II, the word quisling became synonymous with traitor. The term was coined by the British newspaper The Times in its leader of 15 April 1940, entitled "Quislings everywhere." The editorial asserted,

To writers, the word Quisling is a gift from the gods. If they had been ordered to invent a new word for traitor ... they could hardly have hit upon a more brilliant combination of letters. Aurally it contrives to suggest something at once slippery and tortuous.

The noun has survived and for a while during and after World War II, the back-formed verb to quisle /ˈkwɪzəl/ was used. One who was quisling was in the act of committing treason.