home rulen. The principle or practice of self-government in the internal affairs of a dependent country or other political unit.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.home rule n 1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) self-government, esp in domestic affairs 2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) government US the partial autonomy of cities and (in some states) counties, under which they manage their own affairs, with their own charters, etc, within the limits set by the state constitution and laws 3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the partial autonomy sometimes granted to a national minority or a colony Home Rule n (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) self-government for Ireland: the goal of the Irish Nationalists from about 1870 to 1920 Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014home? rule? n. self-government in local matters by a city, province, state, colony, or the like. [1855?60] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Home RuleIrish agitation for complete self-government from the 1770s to 1920s.Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited