Those following a particular leader or authority, or attached
   to a certain opinion; a company or set having a common belief or
   allegiance distinct from others; in religion, the believers in a
   particular creed, or upholders of a particular practice; especially, in
   modern times, a party dissenting from an established church; a
   denomination; in philosophy, the disciples of a particular master; a
   school; in society and the state, an order, rank, class, or party.