| E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| | | Fac’tion. | | |
|
The Romans divided the combatants in the circus into classes, called factions, each class being distinguished by its special colour, like the crews of a boat-race. The four original factions were the leek-green (pras’ina), the sea-blue (ven’eta), the white (alba), and the rose-red (ros’ea). Two other factions were added by Domitian, the colours being golden-yellow (aura’ta) and purple. As these combatants strove against each other, and entertained a strong esprit de corps, the word was easily applied to political partisans. | 1 |
 In the faction riots of Constantinople, A.D. 532, above 30,000 persons were killed. (Latin, factio.) | 2 |
| |
|
|
