one of the 19th century English workmen who destroyed laborsaving machinery that they thought would cause unemployment
source: WordNet 3.0
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.
