Khadija

/xəˈdiːd͡ʒə/

(Islam) the first wife of the prophet Muhammad; the mother of Fatima.


chador

From Hindi चादर (cādar), from Classical Persian چادر (čādar, čādur), from Sanskrit छत्त्र (chattra). Doublet of chatra and chatta.
Spelling possibly influenced by modern Iranian Persian چادر (čâdor) or another language.

Holonym: hijab

The Commodities are infinite: […] Pintados, Chints and Chadors, Shashes and Girdles, Cannakens[…]

1625, [Samuel] Purchas, “The English Ambassadors arrivall at Surat”, in Purchas His Pilgrimes. […], 1st part, London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 530, line 42:

The first few times Dolly stepped out into the city, cloaked by a chaddar that impaired her vision, she intuitively grabbed Sekond Lal's hand.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 262:

A loose robe made from a single cloth, worn as a combination head covering, veil and shawl by chiefly Muslim women (and occasionally by those of other faiths) in Iran and South Asia.


ra'y

(Islam) In early fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), a personal opinion in adapting Shari'a law.


Eid al-Fitr

From Arabic عِيد اَلْفِطْر (ʕīd al-fiṭr, “Festival of Breaking the Fast”) in reference to the previous avoidance of food from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan.

derived

عِيد اَلْفِطْر

Eid ul-Fitr is one of the main celebrations in the Islamic calendar. […] Prior to Eid ul-Fitr celebrations people give an extra donation of food or money that is distributed to needy people so that no one will be without the means to celebrate the event. This donation is called Zakat ul-Fitr.

1998, Barbara DuMoulin, Sylvia Sikundar, Celebrating Our Cultures: Language Arts Activities for Classroom Teachers, Markham, Ont.: Pembroke Publishers, →ISBN, page 27:

At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate one of the most important Islamic holidays, Eid al-fitr. It is a one-day celebration after the last day of fasting. In the evening on the twenty-ninth day of Ramadan, we go out to see if the moon has appeared. If the moon is not seen, we fast one more day. If it is seen, the next day is Eid al-fitr. During Eid al-fitr, we visit friends and family and have people over to our houses. It is a very happy and special holiday for children.

2003, Aisha Karen Khan, What You Will See Inside a Mosque, Woodstock, Vt.: SkyLight Paths Publishing, →ISBN, page 20:

At the end of Ramadan, there is an exuberant celebration called Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-Breaking. […] Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal, the month that follows Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. In the morning, Muslims gather early in outdoor locations or mosques to perform the Eid prayer, which is a short congregational prayer followed by a sermon. After the sermon is finished, everyone leaves to visit family and friends. It is common to bring gifts, especially to children. The celebration can last as long as three days.

2015, Kathleen Tracy, Islamic Culture in the Middle East in Perspective (World Cultures in Perspective), Hockessin, De.: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, page 27:

(Islam) The religious celebration at the end of Ramadan, on the first day of the tenth month of the Muslim lunar calendar.


wajib saum

(Islam) a required fast, such as that celebrating Ramadan


qadar

(Islam) Divine intervention in the affairs of humans; fate, predestination.


Mahdi

From Arabic مَهْدِيّ (mahdiyy, “guided one”).

Ahmadis consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmed to be the Mahdi.

"Of course, my Lord. You asked what they were shouting, though. It was Mahdi! They directed the term at the young master. When they-"
"At Paul?"
"Yes, my Lord. They've a legend here, a prophecy, that a leader will come to them, a child of a Bene Gesserit, to lead them to true freedom. It follows the familiar messiah pattern."

1965, Frank Herbert, Dune (Fiction), →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 100–101:

Al-Afghani was a polyglot Persian who became an international agitator, aspiring [...] to unify the Muslim masses behind the Caliph (or even the Mahdi) and to become himself the Luther of an Islamic reformation.

2012, Piers Brendon, ‘Beginning the Dissent’, Literary Review, volume 401:

(Sunni Islam) A leader who, according to Sunni eschatology, will appear and restore peace and justice before the end of the world.

اَلْمَهْدِيُّ

a leader in Islamic eschatology who will appear and restore peace and justice before the end of the world

(Twelver Shiite Islam) Muhammad b. Hasan al-Mahdi, the last of the Twelve Imams, born in 868 AD but believed alive and present in this world in a state of occultation; Similarly to Sunni belief, he will reappear before the end of time.


Hezbollah

From Arabic حِزْبُ اللّٰه (ḥizbu llāh, literally “party of God”).

bor

حِزْبُ اللّٰه

There are fears of another war between Hezbollah and Israel as border clashes continue.

The Hariri-Aoun agreement has shown that Hezbollah can bring the national political system to a halt. This happened in the past several years, and it worsened conditions in sectors such as foreign debt, electricity output, rubbish collection, water delivery, and other essential services, to the discomfort of the majority of Lebanese who have spoken out intermittently against the oligarchy of sectarian leaders who rule the country.

2016 October 22, Rami G Khouri, “Lebanese oligarchy preserves its interests once again”, in Aljazeera:

A political and military Shi'a Islamic organization that arose after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

حِزْبُ اللّٰه m (ḥizbu llāh, literally “party of Allah, party of God”)

真主党 (zan¹ zyu² dong², literally “party of Allah”)

真主党 (Zhēnzhǔdǎng, literally “party of Allah”)

حِزْبُاللهِ لُبْنان (hezbo-llâh-e lobnân, literally “Lebanese Hezbollah”)


sakina

Arabic سَكِينَة (sakīna, “God-inspired peace of mind”)

uder

(Islam) the divine tranquility obtained by reciting the Qur'an


tilawa

(Islam) the ritual recitation of the Qur'an


tariqa

(Islam) a Sufi method of discipline, meditation and mystical insight, or a religious order based on this.


Abel

From Middle English Abel, from Old English Ābel, from Latin Abel, from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), from Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel, “Abel”), possibly from the homonymous word הֶבֶל (heḇel, “breath, vapor; vanity”) or from Akkadian 𒌉𒍑 (ablu, “son”).

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:8:

(biblical) The son of Adam and Eve who was killed by his brother Cain.


caliphate

From Medieval Latin calīphātus, equivalent to caliph + -ate.

Monarchical government based on a claim of succession to the Islamic State of Muhammad, ruled by a caliph.


Yawm al-Din

Arabic يَوْم اَلدِّين (yawm ad-dīn, “day of judgment”)

يَوْم اَلدِّين


zadakat

From Classical Arabic صَدَقَة (ṣadaqa, “charity”)

(Islam) voluntary alms, or righteous acts


taqlid

From Arabic تَقْلِيد (taqlīd, “imitation”).

Muslims must not imagine that their sole duty was taqlid, the emulation of a jurist.

2000, Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God, Harper, published 2004, page 128:

(Islam) Conformity to traditional legal decisions in Shari'a jurisprudence.


Hejaz

Borrowed from Arabic الْحِجَاز (al-ḥijāz).

bor+

The mountainous area of northwest Saudi Arabia which gave rise to early Islam and which contains the sites of many holy places.


Whirling Dervish

en-noun

Whirling Dervish (plural Whirling Dervishes)

A Sufi of an ascetic order, centered in Turkey but widespread internationally, whose ritual religious observances involve mystical poetry of Mevlana (Rumi), music, and a whirling dance.


wahy

Explicit philosophical discussion of wahy is not extensive. An important issue is the relative status and possible harmonisation of knowledge gained through philosophy and wahy.

2013, Ian Richard Netton, Encyclopaedia of Islam, page 292:

(Islam) The inspirational revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad.


mihrab

Certainly there are nagging undertones of regret to the greatest of the Islamic monuments of Spain, the Great Mosque of Córdoba, for now that its mihrab has been demoted to be a mere curiosity, […].

1964, Jan Morris, Spain, Faber and Faber, published 2008, →ISBN:

(Islam) A niche in a mosque that indicates the qibla (direction of Mecca), and into which the imam prays.

(Islam) A design in a Muslim prayer mat with the same function.


qadi

From Arabic قَاضٍ (qāḍin, “judge”). Doublet of alcalde, casis, and cauzee.

To this the Jew agreed, and the two went together to the great hall, in which the kadi was administering justice.

legal treatises dealing with the subject usually spoke of the appointment to office of a qadi [...].

1985, Yasmin Hussain, Sharon Siddique, Ahmad Ibrahim, Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia:

The Qazi, his spiritual adviser, had recommended that the Russian be taken out into the desert and buried alive [...].

1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 74:

While sharia law for divorce in many Muslim countries has been modified by governments, in Israel reform was initiated by qadis.

2011 July 22, Jill Hamilton, The Guardian:

(Islam, law) A judge who is trained in and practices Islamic law


Fatima

(Islam) A daughter of the prophet Muhammad, the wife of Ali.


devil's advocate

devil's advocate (plural devil's advocates)

Calque of Latin advocātus diabolī (“the devil’s advocate”), a popular title given to the officer dealing with the canonization process in the 16th c.

calque

(historical, Roman Catholicism) A canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.

مُحَامِي الشَّيْطَان

muḥāmī š-šayṭān

列聖調査審問検事

れっせいちょうさしんもんけんじ


kalima

Borrowed from Arabic كَلِمَة (kalima, “word”)

لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله#Arabic

(Islam) the formal content of the shahada (declaration of faith): لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ (lā ʔilāha ʔillā llāhu muḥammadun rasūlu llāhi) "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."


tawhid

Borrowed from Arabic تَوْحِيد (tawḥīd, literally “declaring [God] one”).

bor+

(Islam) the central Islamic doctrine of God's divine unity


Hamas

Borrowed from Arabic حَمَاس (ḥamās, literally “enthusiasm”), an acronym for حَرَكَة اَلْمُقَاوَمَةِ الْإِسْلَامِيَّةِ (ḥarakat al-muqāwama l-ʔislāmiyya, “Islamic Resistance Movement”). The pronunciation with /x/ is from or influenced by Hebrew חַמַאס.

der

Hebrew חַמַאס

Hamas knew there would be massive retaliations.

2009 January 13, “'Never again,' says survivor”, in Toronto Star:

[W]hen a Hamas spokesman recently stood by his statement that Jews used the blood of non-Jewish children for their matzos – one of the oldest anti-Semitic canards around – European elites were largely silent.

2014 August 20, “Why Jews are worried [print version: International New York Times, 22 August 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times:

A militant Palestinianist and Sunni Muslim movement that presses for an independent, Palestinian Islamic state and the Palestinian right of return.


Rajab

My departure from Tangier, my birthplace, took place on Thursday the 2nd of the month of God, Rajab the Unique, in the year 725 […].

1958-1994, Hamilton Gibb & CF Beckingham, in The Travels of Ibn Battutah, Folio Society 2012, p. 5

The seventh month of the Islamic calendar.


'umra

(Islam) A minor hajj, a lesser pilgrimage to Mecca, other than at the time of the hajj.


Husayn

Transliteration of Arabic حُسَيْن (ḥusayn), from the root ح س ن (ḥ-s-n).

translit

(Islam) A son of Ali and brother of Hassan; a martyr, and Shi'a Imam.


masjid

Borrowed from Arabic مَسْجِد (masjid), from the root س ج د (s-j-d). Doublet of mosque.

Any masjid where the practices are devoted absolutely to The God ALONE.

If you assign a place in your home or office for prayer, then it can be considered as your own masjid.


shari'a

From Arabic شَرِيعَة (šarīʕa, literally “path, way”).

bor

The legislation of shari'a here is very strict.

(Islam) A body of religious law forming a part of the Islamic tradition based on the scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith.


inclusivism

(religion) The view that all religions have a partial truth.


Hasan

en-proper noun

Hasan (countable and uncountable, plural Hasans)

From Arabic حَسَن (ḥasan, “fine, good, good-looking, handsome, manly; strong”).

bor

(Islam) The eldest son of Ali and brother of Husayn, both are Imams.


Safar

Borrowed from Arabic صَفَر (ṣafar), from صَفِرَ (ṣafira, “to be empty”).

The second month of the Islamic calendar.

صَفَر

the second month of the Islamic calendar


Muharram

From Arabic مُحَرَّم (muḥarram, “forbidden”), from حَرَّمَ (ḥarrama, “to forbid”). Doublet of marrano.

These, hearing nothing of the Collector-Sahib for some time, and heartily despising the Hindu Sub-Judge, arranged to start a little Mohurrum riot of their own.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, “His Chance in Life”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio, published 2005, page 56:

‘I don't much believe in this discussing – besides, I'm so dead with all the extra work Mohurram's bringing, if you'll excuse me.’

1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 77:

It was unfortunate, moreover, that he arrived in Teheran in January 1829 during the holy month of Muharram, when feelings run high and the faithful slash themselves with swords and pour glowing cinders on their heads.

1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 100:

[…]were two Muharrams in the first year, the first being the beginning of the new year and the other the added month. The number of months was 13. After the passage of two or three years, when the period for the intercalated month had come to[…]

1994, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān Jabartī, Thomas Philipp, Guido Schwald, ʻAbd Al-Raḥmān Al-Jabartī's History of Egypt: ʻajāʾib Al-āthār Fī ʾl-tarājim Waʾl-akhbār, →ISBN, page 4:

The first month of the Islamic calendar, when many Islamic communities hold a festival commemorating the deaths of the grandsons of Mohammed.


suhur

Borrowed from Arabic سَحُور (saḥūr), literally "of the dawn".

(Islam) A pre-dawn breakfast during the Ramadan fasting.


takbir

(Islam) A proclamation of the greatness of God, "Allahu akbar".


ulama

Borrowed from Arabic عُلَمَاء (ʕulamāʔ).

There he […] became disillusioned with much of the Islamic clerical establishment, and first expressed his contempt for what he called ‘religious secularists’, those foolish ulama who attempt to separate politics from religion.

2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Penguin Books, published 2001, →ISBN, page 469:


mujahid

en-noun

mujahid (plural mujahideen or mujahidin or mujahids)

mujahideen (plural)
mujahidin (plural)
mujahids (plural)

/mʊˈdʒɑːhɪd/

Borrowed from Arabic مُجَاهِد (mujāhid), derived from the active participle of جَاهَدَ (jāhada, “to strive in the cause of God”) (verbal noun: جِهَاد (jihād, “to strive in the cause of God as a religious duty”)), from the root ج ه د (j-h-d).

(Islam) A Muslim engaging in jihad, especially armed jihad; a jihadist.

奋战者 (fènzhànzhě) (a number of other translations exist with a 聖戰／圣战 "holy war" part)


Quraysh

Transliteration of Arabic قُرَيْش (qurayš).

translit

In the Quran's chapter 106, often spelled Quraysh in English, God speaks to tribes who are standing defiantly against the Prophet Mohammad: "So let them serve the Lord of this house who feeds them against hunger and gives them security against fear."

2013, Lynne Meredith Golodner, Flavors of Faith: Holy Breads, Front Edge Publishing, →ISBN:

The 106th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an, named after the aforementioned tribe.


RV

(biblical) Initialism of Revised Version.


saum

Borrowed from Arabic صَوْم (ṣawm, “fasting”).

(Islam) fasting; one of the five pillars of Islam


qiyas

Unadapted borrowing from Arabic قِيَاس (qiyās, “measurement, analogy”).

unadapted borrowing

(Islam) The use of analogy as precedent in Shari'a jurisprudence.


shahada

en-noun

shahada (usually uncountable, plural shahadas or shahadat)

Borrowed from Arabic شَهَادَة (šahāda, “witnessing”).

(Islam, especially theosophy) The Islamic declaration of belief in the unity of God, one of the five pillars, the formal content of which is the kalima (a minimal Islamic creed).


Allahu akbar

/əˌlɑːhuː ˈakbɑː/

From Arabic اللّٰهُ أَكْبَر (allāhu ʔakbar).

bor

اللّٰهُ أَكْبَر

Tokbîr is repeating three times these Words, اللّٰه أكبر Allah Akbar, which is to say, GOD is Greatest, before the Kelmah abovementioned.

1742, James Fraser, The History of Nadir Shah, London, page 126n:

The official said it was not immediately clear who the attackers were, but said some of them were shouting "Allahu Akbar" - a frequent cry of Chechnya's separatist rebels.

2004 June 22, Yuri Bagrov, The Guardian:

(Islam) "God is most great"; the Muslim takbir, or liturgical proclamation, used to accept sovereignty of God and as a common form of thanksgiving.


rasul

Borrowed from Arabic رَسُول (rasūl, “messenger”).

bor+

(Islam) A prophet or messenger in Islam; Muhammad, as a special messenger of God.


Ibrahim

Etymology tree
Hebrew אַבְרָהָםbor.
Aramaic אברהםbor.
Arabic إِبْرَاهِيم (ʔibrāhīm)bor.
English Ibrahim
Transliteration of Arabic إِبْرَاهِيم (ʔibrāhīm). Doublet of Abraham.

etymon

ar>إِبْرَاهِيم>prophet

translit

إِبْرَاهِيم

the prophet Abraham in Islam — see also Abraham


Shi'a

From Arabic شِيعَة (šīʕa, “sect, faction, party; [collectively] followers, partisans”), as the word has been used in شِيعَة عَلِيّ (šīʕat ʕalī, “the faction of Ali; [collectively] the followers of Ali”) or الشِّيعَة (aš-šīʕa, “the Faction; the Followers”).

bor

sect, faction, party; 􂀿collectively􂁀 followers, partisans

In Islam, Sunni is a more triumphant version of the faith than Shia, which stresses the importance of suffering, following the founder Ali, who was persecuted.

1998, Geert H. Hofstede, Masculinity and Femininity: The Taboo Dimension of National Cultures, page 205:

Shi’a is one of the two larger divisions of Islam, […]

2008, J. Gordon Melton, The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena, Visible Ink Press, page 181:

Jordanians do not know what Shi’a is about, and it was very recently, [the] last few years, when we start[ed] being exposed to Shi’a.

a. 2013, Bruce Anthony Collet, Refugee Education as a Gauge of Liberal Multiculturalism: Iraqi Students in Jordan and the United States in 2013, Heidi Biseth, Halla B. Holmarsdottir, Human Rights in the Field of Comparative Education, Sense Publishers, page 158

But the Shī'a was not yet a sect; there can as yet be no division of Islam between Shi'ite and Sunni.

2016, Abdul Ganiy Oloruntele, The Sunni and the Shi’A: History, Doctrines and Discrepancies:

(usually with article) The branch of Islam that believes that Ali succeeded Muhammad as leader, and that places emphasis on the prophet's family.


Wahhabi

Borrowed from Arabic وَهَّابِيّ (wahhābiyy, “Wahhabi”), ultimately named after Islam theologian Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Equivalent to Wahhab + -i.

named-after

(Islam) An adherent of Wahhabism (Sunni Islamic fundamentalist reform movement).


Upanishad

Borrowed from Sanskrit उपनिषद् (upaniṣad).

Any of a set of authorless Hindu religious and philosophical texts considered to be an early source of the religion, found mostly as the concluding part of the Brahmanas and in the Aranyakas.


iftar

en-noun

iftar (countable and uncountable, plural iftars)

bor

Arabic إِفْطَار (ʔifṭār)

Iftars can be social events, where people congregate to eat and socialize.

On a recent afternoon in the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, as shoppers hurried around a market buying food and drink for that evening’s iftar meal, a small group of men from sub-Saharan Africa gathered near a stall selling phone accessories.

2023 March 30, Simon Speakman Cordall, “Tunisian morgue overflows as more people attempt risky sea crossing”, in The Guardian:

(Islam) The evening meal (of dates) that breaks each day's fast during Ramadan.

iftaar

(Islam) the evening meal (of dates) that breaks each day's fast during Ramadan


qibla

en-noun

qibla (countable and uncountable, plural qiblas)

From Arabic قِبْلَة (qibla, “which is opposite”).

bor

The other mosques' qiblas are also in the 150°'s range, except for the Andalusian Mosque which has a qibla of 148° (table 7, fig. 17).

1990, Michael E. Bonine, “Sacred Direction and City Structure”, in Oleg Grabar, editor, Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture, volume 7, page 68:

Muslim astronomers from the 8th century onwards concerned themselves with the determination of the qibla as a problem of mathematical geography.

1999, David A. King, World Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance of Mecca, page 56:

The original portico was on the west side (i.e. at right angles to the qibla) and consisted of three bays resting on two marble columns.

2002, Andrew Petersen, Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 218:

(Islam) The direction in which Muslims face while praying, currently determined as the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.


Sayyid

From Arabic سَيِّد (sayyid, “Master, Lord, the nobleman”).

uder

(Islam) An honorific title borne by male descendants of the prophet Muhammad.


ummah

Borrowed from Arabic أُمَّة (ʔumma, “community”). Cognate to Hebrew אומה / אֻמָּה (ʾummā, “nation”).

he-m

אומה / אֻמָּה (ʾummā, “nation”)

That concept of a united ummah has survived all subsequent divisions in Islam, including the great and so far permanent rupture between Sunni and Shī‘a [...].

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 258:


hadith

en-noun

hadith (countable and uncountable, plural hadith or hadiths or ahadith)

hadith (plural)
hadiths (plural)
ahadith (plural)

From Arabic حَدِيث (ḥadīṯ, “Prophetic tradition”), from حَدَّثَ (ḥaddaṯa, “to tell, relate, report”).

bor

In addition to the Quran, Muslims also look to the hadiths for moral and spiritual guidance in their daily lives.

There are four main Shia books of hadith and six main Sunni books of hadith.

(countable, religion, Islam) An eyewitness account of a saying or action of Muhammad or sometimes one of his companions not otherwise found in the Quran.

hadith

collected sayings and actions of Muhammad

(countable, in the plural, religion, Islam) A particular accepted collection of such accounts, as from a single source or within a particular branch of Islam or Islamic jurisprudence.


tafsir

en-noun

tafsir (countable and uncountable, plural tafsirs or tafsir or tafasir)

tafsirs (plural)
tafsir (plural)
tafasir (plural)

Borrowed from Arabic تَفْسِير (tafsīr, “interpretation”).

bor

(Islam) Grammatical, historical, allegorical or traditional interpretations of the Qur'an.


doomsday

en-noun

doomsday (countable and uncountable, plural doomsdays)

From Middle English domes + dai, from Old English dom (“judgment”) + dæg (“day”). Equivalent to doom + -s- + day. Possibly influenced by Latin domus dei (“house of God”).

Any day of great death and destruction; end of the world; an apocalypse.


emirate

From emir + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, the concrete charge of it).


loins

(biblical, euphemistic) The pubic region.

Neuertheleſſe, thou ſhalt not build the houſe, but thy ſonne that ſhall come foorth out of thy loynes, hee ſhall build the house vnto my Name.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 8:19, column 1:

The pubic region.
The reproductive organs.


God

→ Pohnpeian: Koht

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós?
Proto-Germanic *gudą
Proto-West Germanic *god
Old English god
Middle English god
Middle English God
English God
Derived from Middle English God. See god.

etymon

Dawn believes in God, but Willow believes in multiple gods and goddesses.

Hee that loueth not, knoweth not God: for God is loue

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 John 4:8:

God is loue, and hee that dwelleth in loue, dwelleth in God, and God in him.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 John 4:16:

...God, the All-gracious, the All-good, the All-bountiful, the All-mighty, the All-merciful God...

1741, [Samuel Richardson], Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded. […], 3rd edition, volume II, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […]; and J. Osborn, […], →OCLC, page 388:

The Muéddin: God is great, there is no God but God.

1911, Katharine Harris Bradley as Michael Field, Accuser, page 158

This is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help — and God's.

1971 [1963 November 22], Lyndon Johnson, “The Beginning”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 17:

He (n.b.: a Muslim) has told me that he will not allow one person’s actions to stop him from praying to his God.

Paragraph 73, R v Brenton Harrison Tarrant (Sentencing remarks) ([2020] NZHC 2192)

All this will culminate in a final showdown in Israel between the true Lord (Jehovah) God of Israel and the false god (Allah) of Mecca (the center of pagan idolatry in Arabia, at the Kaaba) […]

2011, Steve Urick, Practical Christian Living, →ISBN, page 214:

The first deity of various theistic religions, and the only deity in the Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

God sent Jesus to earth to be the King of the Jews; that is, the one to tell them what they should do. […] I will tell you why God let Jesus die upon the cross.

1899, The Sunday School Journal, page 378:

(Trinitarian Christianity) God the Father as distinguished from Jesus Christ, God the Son.

The ancients represented this fundamental duality mythologically as God and Goddess. When Mystery looks at itself, God looks at Goddess.

2001, Timothy Freke, Peter Gandy, Jesus and the Lost Goddess, page 133:

This reduces the successful invocation of God to a function of the presence of male genitalia. Put another way, women have the wrong equipment to invoke God.
Goddess and God flow throughout all of nature, through each and every man and woman, becoming fully present in the world.

2005, Nikki Bado-Fralick, Coming to the Edge of the Circle, page 45:

God and Goddess watched as the finite universe continued to develop into a stable platform to sustain finite life and were pleased.

2006, Ronald L. Clark, The Grace of Being, page 22:

The single male deity of various bitheistic or duotheistic religions.


God

A God there is, that guyds the Globe, and framde the fyckle Spheare.

1563, Barnabe Googe, Eglogs, Epytaphes, and Sonettes, sig. Cviiiv

1911, Katharine Harris Bradley as Michael Field, Accuser, p. 158

Perhaps this... must involve a relationship with a God of truth—and of love, of mercy, of justice.

1960 April 25, advertisement in Life, p. 125

Whoever said that there isn't a God is full of shit!

2009, Nick Cave, The Death of Bunny Munro, page 68:

A being such as a monotheistic God: a single divine creator and ruler of the universe.

እግዚአብሔር

ʾƎgziʾäbəḥer


God

God, is this because of the "I don't love you anymore" T-shirt I bought? It was a joke!

Admiral Anderson: God... feels like years since I just sat down.

2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel (Priority: Earth):

Short for oh God: expressing annoyance or frustration.


intifada

/ˌɪntɪˈfɑːdə/

Borrowed from Arabic اِنْتِفَاضَة (intifāḍa, “shaking off, uprising, insurrection”).

bor

اِنْتِفَاضَة

An insurrection; a usually violent attempt to take control of a government.


arkan

en-noun

arkan pl (normally plural, singular rukn)

(Islam) The five "pillars", requirements or devotional duties of Islam: shahada, salat, zakat, saum and hajjh.


adhan

If one were to pray alone, then no adhan is needed.

(Islam) The call to prayer, which consisted originally of simply four takbirs followed by the statement (أَشْهَدُ أَنْ) لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا ٱلله ((ʔašhadu ʔan) lā ʔilāha ʔillā llāh).


Moghul

Borrowed from Iranian Persian مغول (moğul) (for the spellings moghul and mogul) or from Classical Persian مغول (muğūl, muğōl) and Urdu مغل (muġal) (for other spellings), an Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, ultimately from Middle Mongol ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ (mongɣol). More at Mughal.


CRC

Christian Reformed Church
w:Christian Reformed Church

(Christianity) Initialism of Christian Reformed Church.


iman

iman (countable and uncountable, plural imans)

From Arabic إِيمَان (ʔīmān, “faith, belief”).

(Islam, uncountable) Pious adherence to the Islamic faith.

(Islam, countable) A believer in the Islamic faith.


RC

RC (countable and uncountable, plural RCs)

(Judaism) Initialism of red crystal, a Jewish symbol.

(Roman Catholicism) Initialism of Roman Catholic.


dervish

From Ottoman Turkish درویش (derviş), from Persian درویش (darvêš, “poor; Sufi mystic”), from Middle Persian dlgwš (driyōš, “poor, needy”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *drigu-, cognate with Sanskrit ध्रिगु (dhrigu, “needy”) and Avestan 𐬛𐬭𐬌𐬔𐬎 (driguš).

der

(Islam) An itinerant Sufi mystic practicing voluntary poverty in devotion to God, and often engaging in ecstatic rituals.

(historical) A citizen or inhabitant of Darawiish (circa 1895–1920 C.E.), an anti-colonial polity in modern Somalia headed by Sufis.

(historical) One of the followers of Muhammad Ahmad, the Mahdi of the Sudan, in the 1880s.

The Hejaz war, meanwhile, would be one of dervishes against regular troops.

1926, T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, New York: Anchor, published 1991, page 104:

(by extension) Any irregular guerrilla fighter resembling the Sudanese Mahdi in equipment, uniform, tactics, etc.


OT

Coordinate term: NT

(Christianity, Judaism) Initialism of Old Testament.

(Scientology) Initialism of Operating Thetan.


TBS

(religion) Initialism of the True Buddha School.


zakat

en-noun

zakat (usually uncountable, plural zakats)

Borrowed from:
* Persian زکات (zakât);
* Turkish zekât, from Ottoman Turkish زكات (zekat); or
* Urdu زَکَات (zakāt);
all from Arabic زَكَاة (zakāh, “almsgiving, zakat; purification”), from زَكَوٰة (zakāh) (archaic), from Aramaic זכותא/ܙܟܘܬܐ (zākūṯā, “goodness, probity, uprightness; merit; victory”), from זכי (zəḵē, “to gain; to overcome, triumph over”).

der

Zakât is an ordinance of God, incumbent upon every perſon vvho is free, ſane, adult, and a Muſſulman, provided he be poſſeſſed, in full propriety, of ſuch eſtate or effects as are termed in the language of the lavv a Niſâb, and that he has been in poſſeſſion of the ſame for the ſpace of one complete year, vvhich is denominated Havvlân-Hâvvl. The reaſon of this obligation is found in the vvord of God, vvho has ordained it in the Koran, ſaying, "Bestovv Zakât."

1791, [Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani], chapter I, in Charles Hamilton, transl., The Hedàya, or Guide; a Commentary on the Mussulman Laws: […], volume I, London: […] T[homas] Bensley, →OCLC, book I (Of Zakât), page 2:

The Mahometan law insists on the legal obligation of society to support their indigent fellow-citizens, the Hedaya or Mahometan Guide begins, "take zakat," said Mahomet, "from the rich Mussulmans, and bestow it upon the poor Mussulmans: zakat or charity," says the code, "signifies alms imposed by law, in opposition to [sadka], voluntary charity." […] The zakat was a property-tax paid on all productions and profits, on merchandise, mines, &c.

1831, James Butler Bryan, chapter XII, in A Practical View of Ireland, from the Period of the Union; with Plans for the Permanent Relief of Her Poor, and the Improvement of Her Municipal Organization: […], Dublin: W. F. Wakeman, […]; London: Simpkin and Marshall, […], →OCLC, page 327:

The Alcoran and all the subsequent teachings of the faithful enjoined a constant and liberal charity. […] The theory of the zakat, or tax, is that it is a voluntary gift. Contributing for the needs of the state followed in due course of time, and became obligatory. These taxes, or zakat, amounted by law to two and a half per cent. of the principal of certain assessed property.

1886, William A[ddison] Phillips, “The Mahometan System, and the Governments and Forms of Society Founded on It”, in Labor, Land and Law: A Search for the Missing Wealth of the Working Poor, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 140:

Amongst these stations is the well-known place called Qaṭyā, which the people pronounce Qaṭya, where zakāt is collected from the merchants, their goods are examined, and their baggage most rigorously searched.

1958, Ibn Battuta, “Syria”, in H[amilton] A[lexander] R[osskeen] Gibb, transl., The Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa A.D. 1325–1354 […], volume I, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press for the Hakluyt Society, →OCLC, page 72:

Services given by the Sayyids are supposed to be free, but they should receive the Zikat, or one tenth of the fruits of the earth.

1963, Emrys L[loyd] Peters, “Aspects of Rank and Status among Muslims in a Lebanese Village”, in Julian Pitt-Rivers, editor, Mediterranean Countrymen: Essays in Social Anthropology of the Mediterranean, Paris: Mouton and Co., →OCLC, page 170; republished in Louise E. Sweet, editor, Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East: An Anthropological Reader, volumes II (Life in the Cities, Towns, and Countryside), Garden City, N.Y.: Natural History Press for the American Museum of Natural History, 1970, →ISBN, page 88:

[…] Russian goods were subject to numerous zakats as well as to taxes on buying and selling in the bazaars, on maintaining shops and stalls in the bazaars, and on the compulsory use of the official bazaar weights.

2004, Seymour Becker, “Economic Development”, in Russia’s Protectorates in Central Asia: Bukhara and Khiva, 1865–1924, London, New York, N.Y.: RoutledgeCurzon, published 2005, →ISBN, part 3 (The Russian Presence), page 136:

By tradition, zakat proceeds serve partly to deliver poor relief and partly to finance "praiseworthy activities," defined to include religious education and pilgrimage. In several countries, including Pakistan, zakat has become a legal obligation, and the government now organizes both its collection and its disbursement. In most parts of the Islamic world, however, zakat is collected and disbursed in a decentralized manner by local religious organizations[…].

2006, Timur Kuran, “Islam and Economics: Policy Prescriptions for a Free Society”, in Sohrab Behdad, Farhad Nomani, editors, Islam and the Everyday World: Public Policy Dilemmas, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 43:

Zakat is a system of alms giving which constitutes one of the five pillars of Islam, and zakat committees operate as social welfare agencies by collecting zakats from able Muslims and distributing them to the less fortunate.

2009, Atta El-Battahani, “Ideological Expansionist Movements versus Historical Indigenous Rights in the Darfur Region of Sudan: From Actual Homicide to Potential Genocide”, in Salah M. Hassan, Carina E. Ray, editors, Darfur and the Crisis of Governance in Sudan: A Critical Reader, Ithaca, N.Y., London: Cornell University Press, →ISBN, part 1, section 1 (Origins and Evolution of the Conflict), endnote 16, page 67:

In practice, the zakats seem to have varied a great deal with the context, the society, and local norms.

2020 March, Thomas Piketty, “Ternary Societies and Colonialism: Eurasian Trajectories”, in Arthur Goldhammer, transl., Capital and Ideology, Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, →ISBN, part 2 (Slave and Colonial Societies), footnote 76, page 409:

(Islam) Almsgiving, one of the five pillars of Islam, in the form of an annual tax on certain types of property which is then used for charitable purposes.

jakeuët

almsgiving in the form of an annual tax on certain types of property, which is used for charitable purposes


hijab

en-noun

hijab (countable and uncountable, plural hijabs)

→ Portuguese: hijabe

The belief that Muslim females observe hijab because men force them to do so insults some Muslim females who have based their decision on their understanding of Islam.

2010, Jawairriya Abdallah-Shahid, Veiled Voices, →ISBN, page 13:

(uncountable, Islam) The practice, among Muslim women, of covering the body after the age of puberty in front of non-related (non-family) adult males.


NRC

Netherlands Reformed Congregation
w:Netherlands Reformed Congregation

(religion) Initialism of Netherlands Reformed Congregation.


buddha

buddha (countable and uncountable, plural buddhas)

A human being who has become enlightened (in Buddhism).


Sunni

en-adj

Sunni (comparative more Sunni, superlative most Sunni)

more Sunni (comparative)
most Sunni (superlative)

From Arabic سُنِّيّ (sunniyy), from سُنَّة (sunna, “Sunna”) + ـِيّ (-iyy). By surface analysis, Sunna + -i.

I therefore strongly advocate the formation of a local capital but not at Hillah, which is too Sunni and near Baghdad

2001, H. E. Wingate, edited by Alan de Lacy Rush and Jane Priestland, Records of Iraq, 1914-1966, volume 2, page 181:

members […] came to view themselves collectively as the righteous descendants of Husayn confronting an evil and fundamentally alien ruler: a shah more Zoroastrian than Muslim, more Sunni than Shi'i, more Arab than Iranian, more Yazid than Husayn.

1992, Bruce Lincoln, Discourse and the Construction of Society, page 36:

Many Shias who had become more Sunni in their religious practices reverted back to their original sect.

2012, Eamon Murphy, The Making of Terrorism in Pakistan: Historical and social roots ..., page 98:

Belonging or relating to the branch of Islam based on the Qur'an, the Kutub al-Sittah (the hadiths which record the Sunnah) and that places emphasis on the Sahabah.


Sunni

In Islam, Sunni is a more triumphant version of the faith than Shia, which stresses the importance of suffering, following the founder Ali, who was persecuted.

1998, Geert H. Hofstede, Masculinity and Femininity: The Taboo Dimension of National Cultures, page 205:

Sunni has four schools of Islamic doctrine and law — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali — which uniquely interpret the Hadith, or recorded oral traditions of Muhammad.

2009, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA World Factbook 2010, page xxviii:

Sunni is the mainstream religion, based in Mecca, and is generally more moderate.

2008, John Richard Thackrah, Routledge Companion to Military Conflict since 1945, page 129:


Ishmael

From Hebrew יִשְׁמָעֵאל (yishma'él (yišmāʿēl), “God hears, God will hear”).

der

And Hagar bare Abram a ſonne: and Abram called his ſonnes name, which Hagar bare, Iſhmael.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 16:15, column 1:

(Abrahamism, biblical) The eldest son of Abraham and his wife's handmaiden Hagar who were cast out after the birth of Isaac; traditionally the ancestor of the Arabs via the Ishmaelites.


kafir

en-noun

kafir (countable and uncountable, plural kuffar or kafirs)

Borrowed from Arabic كَافِر (kāfir, “denier, unbeliever”). Doublet of kaffir.

bor

In his sermon, Amir Hamza espoused extremist and segregationist views. He inferred that non-Muslims are “kafir” (infidels).

2024 August 21, “Investigation Into Bangladeshi Preacher Amir Hamza’s Sermon in Singapore on 9 August 2024”, in Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore):

(Islam, countable, offensive, religious slur, politics) A disbeliever, a denier: someone who rejects or disbelieves in Allah or the tenets of Islam; or more broadly any non-Muslim.


Ramadan

/ɹɑːməˈdɑːn/

/ˈɹɑːmədɑːn/

Transliteration of Arabic رَمَضَان (ramaḍān); see there for more.

translit

(Islam) The holy ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, during which Muslims fast between the break of dawn until sunset; they also refrain from drinking liquids, smoking and having sexual relations.

Ramadaan

holy ninth month of Islamic lunar calendar

A male given name from Arabic, of Muslim usage.


sira

(Islam) A traditional Muslim biography of Muhammad.


fakir

Borrowed from Arabic فَقِير (faqīr, “poor man”).

(Islam) A faqir, owning no personal property and usually living solely off alms.

The preposterous altruism too![…]Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

(Hinduism, more loosely) An ascetic mendicant, especially one who performs feats of endurance or apparent magic.


WWJD

what would Jesus do
what would Jesus do#English


UC

en-noun

UC (countable and uncountable, plural UCs)

(India, Hinduism) Initialism of upper caste.


shiksa

From Yiddish שיקסע (shikse), which is partly derived from the Hebrew שֶׁקֶץ (šeqeṣ, “abomination, impure, object of loathing”).

der

(Judaism, often derogatory) A non-Jewish girl, especially one who is attractive and young.


PPI

personal priesthood interview
personal priesthood interview#English

(Mormonism) Initialism of personal priesthood interview.


KP

en-noun

KP (countable and uncountable, plural KPs)

(countable, India, Hinduism) Initialism of Kashmiri Pandit.


EP

(Anglicanism) Initialism of evening prayer.


Muhammad

Transliteration of Arabic مُحَمَّد (muḥammad, “praised, commendable, laudable”), the passive participle of حَمَّدَ (ḥammada, “to praise, commend, laud, extol”). From the same triconsonantal root ح م د (ḥ-m-d) as, but distinct from, Mahmud.

translit

Mahomet was the predominant form until the late 1700s. Mohammed was the predominant form from then until the 1940s

which has been predominant ever since. Other forms which are now quite common are Mohammad

which all came into common use after the 1820s

Shias believe that Ali succeeded the prophet Muhammad as leader of the Ummah.

Baháʼí Baháʼí

(Islam, uncountable) The figure who introduced Islam, and the man to whom the Qur'an was revealed; considered a prophet by Muslims and Baháʼís.

(Islam, uncountable) The 47th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.


emir

From Middle French emir, from Ottoman Turkish امیر (emir), from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander, prince”). Doublet of amir, Amir, admiral, and amira.


NRSV

New Revised Standard Version
w:New Revised Standard Version

(biblical) Initialism of New Revised Standard Version.


KJV

King James Version
King James Version#English

(biblical) Initialism of King James Version (of the Bible).


Ezek.

Abbreviation of Ezekiel (book of the Bible).


ECT

en-noun

ECT (countable and uncountable, plural ECTs)

The traditional ECT view of hell combines an eternal life-sentence while also adding to that a perpetual torture at the same time.

2015, Jeremy Jernigan, Redeeming Pleasure: How the Pursuit of Pleasure Mirrors Our Hunger for God, Hachette, →ISBN:

(theology, uncountable) Initialism of endless/eternal/everlasting conscious torment (“traditional view of the nature of Hell”).


Taliban

/ˈtɑːlɪbɑːn/

From Pashto طالبان (tālibān, “students, seekers”), plural of طالب (tālib), from Arabic طَالِب (ṭālib, “seeker, student”).

uder

A Deobandi Islamist and largely Pashtun religious political movement founded in Afghanistan in 1994 by mullah Mohammad Omar, which has governed the country from 1996 to 2001 and since 2021.


NIV

New International Version
w:New International Version

(biblical) Initialism of New International Version.


TTP

The TTP has rejected "baseless" reports that it would protect Khan, who has led the high-profile campaign against the CIA's unmanned aircraft attacks on Fata, which have killed many leading militants.

2012 October 5, Jon Boone, “Pakistani Taliban TTP warns Imran Khan ahead of drones march”, in The Guardian:

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
w:Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan

Initialism of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (“Pakistani Taliban”).


Yoism

Coined by its inventor, Daniel Kriegman, from yo + -ism.

An "open-source religion"; a communal belief system based on rational inquiry, empiricism, and science, whose sense of authority emerges from the group via consensus.


Mars

From Middle English Mars, from Latin Mārs (“god of war”), from older Latin (older than 75 BCE) Māvors.

Mars was the lover of Venus, and together they had a daughter called Harmonia.


Aldersgate

Aldersgate Street
Aldersgate#John Wesley
John Wesley

(religious experience): Short for Aldersgate Street, the site of a Moravian meeting at which John Wesley had a religious experience.

Aldersgate is the expression Methodists use to refer to the powerful spiritual experience in which, in Wesley's own words, his "heart was strangely warmed."

2000, Jan Shipps, Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons:

Consequently, Aldersgate is perceived as one more spiritual experience along the way of salvation

2004, Methodist History, volumes 43-44, page 268:

J. Earnest Rattenbury, in his book, Wesley's Legacy in the World, quotes a man by the name of Riggs, author of The Churchmanship of John Wesley, as saying that: the Wesley before Aldersgate was not the same man as after Aldersgate.

2007, John Fremont Beeson, John Wesley and the American Frontier, page 150:

(historical) A religious experience undergone by John Wesley in May 1738.


salat

(Islam) The obligatory prayer that Muslims are called to perform five times a day.


descend

en-verb

descend (third-person singular simple present descends, present participle descending, simple past and past participle descended)

descends (present singular third-person)
descending (participle present)
descended (participle past)
descended (past)
descend (infinitive)

PIE word
 *de
The verb is derived from Middle English descenden (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to go from a better to a worse condition, decline, degenerate; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”), from Anglo-Norman descendere, descendre, and Old French descendere, descendre (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”) (modern French descendre), and from their etymon Latin dēscendere, the present active infinitive of dēscendō (“to come or go down, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant; etc.”), from de- (prefix meaning ‘from; down from’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump”)).
The noun is derived from the verb.

laskea

to pass from a higher to a lower part of (something)

afgaan

to physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position

VVhen I deſcend into my ſelf, and contemplat my moſt terrible horrible terribility, I can hardly hold my ſelf vvithin my ſelf; […]

1653, James Howell, “The Oration of the Lord George Frederique, Baron of Limburg, and Hereditary Officer to the Sacred Roman Empire, and Allwayes Free. Against Spain.”, in A German Diet: Or, The Ballance of Europe, […], London: […] Humphrey Moseley, […], →OCLC, page 26:

[He] vvith holieſt Meditations fed, / Into himſelf deſcended, and at once / All his great vvork to come before him ſet; […]

1671, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 34, lines 111–113:

Let us deſcend into our ovvn boſoms; let us aſk ourſelves vvhat are our duties, and vvhat are our means of diſcharging them.

1797, Edmund Burke, “Letter III.”, in A Third Letter to a Member of the Present Parliament, on the Proposals for Peace with the Regicide Directory of France, London: […] F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […]; sold also by J[ohn] Hatchard, […], →OCLC, page 89:

Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position.

(reflexive, chiefly poetic or religion) Chiefly in the form descend into (or within) oneself: to mentally enter a state of (deep) meditation or thought; to retire.

vajota

to mentally enter a state of (deep) meditation or thought — see also retire


antipapal

en-adj

antipapal (comparative more antipapal, superlative most antipapal)

more antipapal (comparative)
most antipapal (superlative)

(Roman Catholicism) characterized by opposition to the pope

(Roman Catholicism) of or relating to an antipope


gau

(Tibetan Buddhism) A prayer box or small container worn as jewelry and containing an amulet or similar item.


RSS

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
w:Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

(Indian politics, Hindutva) Initialism of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (“Indian nationalist volunteer organization”).


Gen

Shortened from new generation, from Italian generazione nuova.

(Roman Catholicism) A member of the Gen Movement, a youth expression of the international Focolare Movement.


chorale

(Christianity) A form of Lutheran or Protestant hymn tune.


Medina

* The province and city in Saudi Arabia is derived from Arabic اَلْمَدِينَة (al-madīna, “the city”). Doublet of Mdina.
* The river and former borough on the Isle of Wight are derived from Old English Meðune (“the middle one”).
* The river and county in Texas are derived from the Spanish surname Medina.

bor

اَلْمَدِينَة

A city, the provincial capital of Medina province, Saudi Arabia, holy to Islam, 200 miles north of Mecca along the Hejaz, from which the Hijra was launched; contains Muhammad's tomb.

A number of places in the United States:

A tiny city in Stutsman County, North Dakota.


sura

From Arabic سُورَة (sūra, “chapter of the Qur'an”).

Most of these essentially uninflected syllables (CV̄C) are names of the letters of the alphabet and introduce some of the suwar of the Qurʾanic text.

1985, Kristina Nelson, The Art of Reciting the Qurʾan, Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press (2001), chapter 2: “Tajwīd”, page 25


sura

Via Hindi सुरा (surā, “wine”), ultimately from Sanskrit सुरा (surā).

The sap of the palmyra or of the coconut palm, palm wine.


reconciliation

en-noun

reconciliation (countable and uncountable, plural reconciliations)

From Middle English reconciliacioun (“act of reconciling; state of accord or harmony;”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reconciliaciun, reconsiliacion, reconsiliaciun, and Middle French reconciliation, reconsiliacion, reconsiliation (“act of reconciling; result of this act; act of bringing about agreement or harmony; reconsecration of a desecrated place”) (modern French réconciliation), and from their Latin etymon reconciliātiō (“reinstatement, renewal, restoration; reconciliation”), from reconciliāre + -tiō.

nb...

reconcyliacyoun, reconsiliation, reconsiliacion, reconsiliacioun, reconsyliacion, reconsylyacion,

(Christianity) The end of estrangement between a human and God as a result of atonement.

izmirenje

(Christianity) The reconsecration of a desecrated church or other holy site.

(Christianity, chiefly Roman Catholicism) Admission of a person to membership of the church, or readmission after the person has previously left the church.

(Roman Catholicism) Short for sacrament of reconciliation (“a sacrament (sacred ritual) also called confession, involving contrition by a person, confessing sins to a priest, penance performed by the person, and absolution granted by the priest”).

sacrament of reconciliation
sacrament of reconciliation#English


Vishnu

Transliteration of Sanskrit विष्णु (viṣṇu).

translit

(Hinduism) One of the Trimurti (trinity) in Hindu mythology, and the most venerated god in Hinduism.

A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.


theologian

From Old French theologien, equivalent to theology + -an.

During a burping contest to celebrate wonderfully cold soft drinks after a long hike one hot afternoon, one little girl said, "My dad can outburp any of you!" Her father is a distinguished theologian and church leader whom I will not name here.

1999, Diana S. Richmond Garland, Family ministry: a comprehensive guide, page 45:

Of all the theologians of his age, Hooker was the most unpuritan; […]

1861, John Tulloch, English Puritanism and its leaders, page 29:

In Roman Catholic usage, a theological lecturer attached to a cathedral church.

In Eastern Orthodox usage, a person who has had direct experience of and unity with God.


Ouija

en-noun

Ouija (countable and uncountable, plural Ouijas)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Ouija.wav

The popular belief that the word came from French oui (“yes”) + German ja (“yes”) is a misconception. The name is taken from a word spelled out on the board when it was asked to name itself by Helen Peters, sister-in-law of Kennard Company investor Elijah Bond. It is noted in personal letters that Ouija was the name of a woman in a painting above her head at the time, who it is speculated may have in fact been Ouida.

(countable) A board, having letters of the alphabet and the words yes and no; used with a planchette during a seance to "communicate" with spirits.

وْيْجَا

a board with letters of the alphabet and "yes" and "no"


custody

custody (usually uncountable, plural custodies)

Borrowed from Latin custōdia (“a keeping, watch, guard, prison”), from custōs (“a keeper, watchman, guard”).

bor+

The Custody of the Holy Land includes the monasteries of Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem.

(Roman Catholicism) An area under the jurisdiction of a custos within the Order of Friars Minor.


cilice

From French cilice, from Latin cilicium (“clothing made of goatskin”), from Cilicia where it originates from.

der

It was deemed meritorious to disfigure the body by neglect and filth, to extenuate it by fasting and watchfulness, to lacerate it with stripes, and to fret the wounds with cilices of horsehair.

1824, Robert Southey, “View of the Papal System”, in The Book of the Church. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, pages 305–306:

A garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair worn close to the skin used by members of various Christian traditions as a self-imposed means of penance (repentance) and mortification of the flesh.


dissident

From Latin dissidēns, present participle of dissideō (“to sit apart; to disagree”), from dis- (“asunder, apart, in two”) + sedeō (“to sit”).

(Christianity) One who disagrees or dissents; one who separates from the established religion.

From Warſaw, May 25. That the Dyet of Convocation had held its laſt Seſſion on the 22d, and then agreed to and ſign'd a general Confederacy in good Order, having firſt Sworn not to Elect a Foreigner as above. The Day of Election was fixt for the 25th of Aug. But a Proteſt was enter'd by the Diſſidents, who had been excluded.

1733 May, “Foreign Advices in May, 1733”, in “Sylvanus Urban” [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman's Magazine: or Monthly Intelligencer, volume III, number 24, London: Printed, and sold at St John's Gate, by F. Jeffries in Ludgate-street, and most booksellers, →OCLC, page 272:

The Article which enjoins Peace among the Diſſidents was ſigned by all the Catholics then present, and ſo are alſo the continual Repetitions of it in all the Pacta Conventa, and in the ſame Terms, to the Death of the late King; whereas the Confederacies of 1717 and 1733 are not signed by the Diſſidents, who were expelled from thence by Force.

1767, Reflections on the Affairs of the Dissidents in Poland, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 7:

Theſe Pieces are introduced by a very ſenſible preface, explaining the hardſhips and injuſtice which have been inflicted upon the Diſſidents of Poland. We there ſee that the Diſſidents (by whom are meant the proteſtants and the Greeks) had their privileges eſtablished by the fundamental laws paſſed in 1572; and that theſe rights were confirmed by the treaty of Oliva in 1660, which was guarantied by the principal powers of Europe.

1768 March, “VIII. Original Pieces, concerning the Present Situation of the Protestants and Greeks in Poland. Wherein are Contained, The Explanation of Their Rights Published by the Court of Russia: The Articles of the Peace of Oliva: The Confederacies of the Dissidents, and the Declarations of the Protestant Courts in Their Favour: The Speeches of the Bishop of Cracovia and the Pope's Nuncio: The Constitutions of the Diet of 1766: And the Articles of the College of the Bishops Allowed to the Dissidents, &c. &c. &c. Translated from the Originals. 8vo. Pr[ice] 2s. 6d. Baker.”, in The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature, volume XXV, London: Printed for A. Hamilton, in Falcon-Court, Fleet-Street, →OCLC, pages 206–207:

A Socinian was a Dissident, and a member of the Greek Church was a Dissident; and these Dissidents agreed to act together. Even a liberal Romanist might be called a Dissident.

1863, R[obert] G[ordon] Latham, “Poland from Sigismund II. to the Partition”, in The Nationalities of Europe. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Wm. H. Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, S.W., →OCLC, page 53:

The rest, about half a million Russian Orthodox and about the same number of Protestants, were known as ‘dissidents’; the huge Jewish community defied classification.

2013, Brendan [Peter] Simms, Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, from 1453 to the Present, London: Allen Lane, →ISBN:

Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

(Christianity, specifically, historical) Sometimes Dissident: in the kingdom of Poland, the name for Christians not part of the Roman Catholic Church.


literal

en-adj

literal (comparative more literal, superlative most literal)

more literal (comparative)
most literal (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-literal.wav

From Middle English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis, also literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera, litera (“a letter”); see letter.

It is most important to distinguish literalistic from literal interpretation. [...] ‘Literalistic’ interpretation is like word-for-word translation that yields the verbally exact or ‘formally equivalent’ versions but also runs the risk of overlooking the main (illocutionary) point. Literal interpretation, on the other hand, is more like a translation that strives for dynamic equivalence and yields the literary sense.

1998, Kevin Vanhoozer, “6. Redeeming the Text: The Rationality of Literary Acts”, in Is There a Meaning in This Text?, page 311:

(theology) (broadly) That which generally assumes that the plainest reading of a given scripture is correct but which allows for metaphor where context indicates it; (specifically) following the historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation


attrition

en-noun

attrition (countable and uncountable, plural attritions)

15th century, from Middle English attricion, attricioun, from Middle French attricion, attrition and its etymon, Latin attrītiō (“a rubbing against”), from the verb attrītus, past participle of atterō (“to wear”), from ad- (“to, towards”) + terō (“to rub”). By surface analysis, attrit + -ion.

(theology) Imperfect contrition or remorse.

attritio

theology: imperfect contrition or remorse


embolism

The term was coined in 1848 by Rudolf Virchow. From Old French embolisme (“intercalation of days in a calendar to correct errors”), from Late Latin embolismus, from Ancient Greek ἐμβολισμός (embolismós, “intercalary”), from ἐμβάλλω (embállō, “to insert, throw in”).

der

(Christianity) An intercalated prayer for deliverance from evil coming after the Lord's Prayer.

(Roman Catholicism) The variable body of a liturgical preface, between the protocol and eschatocol, typically stating the motive for worship on a given day.


antichristian

en-adj

antichristian (comparative more antichristian, superlative most antichristian)

more antichristian (comparative)
most antichristian (superlative)

From Antichrist, but later reinforced and influenced by anti- + Christian.


fistula

en-noun

fistula (plural fistulas or fistulae or fistulæ)

fistulas (plural)
fistulae (plural)
fistulæ (plural)

Learned borrowing from Latin fistula (“pipe, ulcer, catheter”), from findō (“cleave, divide, split”). Doublet of fester.

lbor

(Christianity, historical) The tube through which the wine of the Eucharist was once sucked from the chalice in certain ceremonies (such as papal Masses).


curate

→ Welsh: curad

Borrowed from Medieval Latin cūrātus (“one who has been curated, a curate”), from the past passive participle of Latin cūrō. Doublet of curato and curé. Equivalent to cure + -ate (noun-forming suffix).


Ezr.

Abbreviation of Ezra (book of the Bible).


compline

From Middle English compelin, cumplie, from Old French complie, from Latin complēta (hōra) (literally “finished hour”).

der

(Christianity) The last of the canonical hours, sung just before retiring to bed.


mistletoe

en-noun

mistletoe (countable and uncountable, plural mistletoes)

From Middle English mistelto, mistilto (“European mistletoe”), from Old English misteltān, misteltān (“mistletoe”), from mistel (“mistletoe; basil; birdlime”) + tān (“sprig, shoot, twig”), possibly as a calque of Old Norse mistilteinn; equivalent to mistle + tan (“twig”). This was mistaken for the plural of tā (“toe”).
Cognate with Danish mistelten (“mistletoe”), Norwegian misteltein (“mistletoe”), Icelandic mistilteinn (“mistletoe”). Compare also the simplex form West Frisian mistel (“mistletoe”), Dutch mistel (“mistletoe”), German Mistel (“mistletoe”), Swedish mistel (“mistletoe”).

red mistletoe

Peraxilla tetrapetala; Tapinanthus rubromarginatus

Miſtletoe, by phyſicians, &c. called viſcus, grows to the height of about two feet. […] Pliny and moſt naturaliſts relate, that thruſhes being exceedingly fond of the berries of the miſtletoe; they ſwallow them, and caſt them out again on the branches of trees, where they uſe to perch; and by this means give occaſion to a new production of miſtletoe.

1738, E[phraim] Chambers, “MISTLETOE”, in Cyclopædia: Or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […] In Two Volumes, 2nd corrected and amended edition, volumes II (L–Z), London: […] D[aniel] Midwinter [et al.], →OCLC, column 1:

In Martigny I first observed the custom, common throughout many parts of Switzerland, of hanging mistletoes over the house doors; a superstition for which I have not been able to get any reason rendered.

1833 February, Robert Mallet, Jun., “Art. IV. Horticultural Jottanda of a Recent Continental Tour.”, in J[ohn] C[laudius] Loudon, editor, The Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement, volume IX, number 42, London: Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, […], →OCLC, page 27:

Mistletoes were growing on the Euphorbias; they were much more succulent than when growing on woody shrubs or on trees. […] One of the Mistletoes common in Southern Africa, has small, myrtle-like leaves and red berries; another is leafless, and has stems resembling a Salicornia.

1844, James Backhouse, chapter XXX, in A Narrative of a Visit to the Mauritius and South Africa, London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co., […]; York: John L. Linney, […], →OCLC, page 534:

The brooms caused by Douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe begin as small sprays of twigs radiating from a swollen limb […] but in time they become large, more or less spherical in shape, and often with long, droopy twigs. […] Although the parasite is present throughout each broom, the only visible portions of dwarf mistletoe are the reproductive shoots which are called "aerial shoots."

1985 May, Robert O. Tinnin, Donald M. Knutson, “Types of Dwarf Mistletoe Brooms”, in How to Identify Brooms in Douglas-fir Caused by Dwarf Mistletoe (United States Department of Agriculture Research Note; PNW 426), [Portland, Or.?]: Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, →OCLC, page 2:

[T]he stickiness [of mistletoe berries] persists through the gut, making it hard to defecate mistletoe seeds with any grace. To deal with this, birds like the silky flycatcher, Phainopepla nitens, that are mistletoe specialists, have evolved a "waggle dance" – also known as butt-wiping behavior – where they clean up by rubbing themselves against twigs. Indeed, the association with bird droppings may even be the origin of the word: Some evidence suggests that "mistletoe" comes from Anglo-Saxon for "dung on a twig."

2014 December 23, Olivia Judson, “The hemiparasite season [print version: Under the hemiparasite, International New York Times, 24–25 December 2014, page 7]”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2014-12-23:

(countable, uncountable) Any of numerous hemiparasitic evergreen plants of the order Santalales with white berries that grow in the crowns of apple trees, oaks, and other trees, such as the European mistletoe (Viscum album) and American mistletoe or eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum).

агъо

any of several hemiparasitic evergreen plants of the order Santalales

Miſtletoe! why I know what that is, as we garniſh our Houſe with it every Year, at Chriſtmas.

1782, Benjamin Martin, “Dialogue VI. Reflections on the Wonderful Nature, and Singular Properties of Some Kinds of Plants, Shrubs, and Trees; Exemplified in Missltoe,^([sic]) Sensitive Plant, Bulbous Garlic, Bee-orchis, and Egg-plant.”, in The Young Gentleman and Lady’s Philosophy in a Continued Survey of the Works of Nature and Art; by Way of Dialogue, volumes III, part IV (Containing a General Survey of Vegetation and Vegetables), London: Printed for W. Owen, […]; and the author, […], →OCLC, page 229:

There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars; and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by, and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe.

1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 81–82:

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe / Help to make the season bright / Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow / Will find it hard to sleep tonight

1946 November, Robert Wells, Mel Tormé (lyrics and music), “The Christmas Song”, performed by Nat King Cole:

Rockin' around the Christmas tree / At the Christmas party hop / Mistletoe hung where you can see / Every couple tries to stop

1958, Johnny Marks (lyrics and music), “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree”, in Merry Christmas from Brenda Lee, performed by Brenda Lee:

Mistletoe. The word conjures winter holidays, office parties, stolen kisses, romance. But appreciation of the plant is no modern thing. Kissing under the mistletoe has been happening for at least 200 years. And some 2,000 years ago, the druids in which is now Britain venerated the plant when it grew on an oak. When they found it, they dressed in white, harvested it with a golden sickle, and sacrificed two white bulls.

(uncountable) A sprig of one such plant used as a Christmas decoration, associated with the custom that a man may kiss any woman standing beneath it.


Mat.

(biblical) Abbreviation of Matthew (book of the Bible)


Mic.

Mich.

Biblical abbreviation for the Book of Micah


Methuselah

From Hebrew מְתוּשֶׁלַח (M'tušelaḥ), also spelled מְתוּשָׁלַח (M'tušalaḥ). The planet's name stems from the fact that, at the time of its discovery in 2003, it was the oldest known planet.

The oldest person whose age is recorded in the Hebrew Bible, having reportedly lived 969 years.


Calvinist

en-adj

Calvinist (comparative more Calvinist, superlative most Calvinist)

more Calvinist (comparative)
most Calvinist (superlative)

Of or pertaining to Calvinism or the Calvinists.

կալվինական

of or pertaining to Calvinism or the Calvinists


sext

From Latin sexta (“sixth; sixth hour”). Doublet of siesta.

(Roman Catholicism) The service appointed for this hour.


monotheistic

/ˌmɒnə(ʊ)θɪˈɪstɪk/

(religion) Believing in a single god, deity, spirit, etc., especially for an organized religion, faith, or creed.


burette

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-burette.wav


tricerion

From Ancient Greek τρικήριον (trikḗrion) from τρι- (tri-) + κηρός (kērós) + -ιον (-ion).

af

(Christianity, in the Greek Orthodox church) A candlestick with three lights, signifying the trinity.


federalism

en-noun

federalism (countable and uncountable, plural federalisms)

From French fédéralisme, equivalent to federal + -ism.


necromantic

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-necromantic.wav

Of or relating to necromancy: the resurrection of or communication with the dead, especially through the use of black magic.


hylic

1820s, from earlier German use; earlier hylical (1708). From Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē, “matter”) + -ic (“of or pertaining to”).

(Gnosticism) The basest type of man in the gnostic theologian Valentinus' triadic grouping; a person focused on neither intellectual (psychic) nor spiritual (pneumatic) reality.


cardinality

cardinality (countable and uncountable, plural cardinalities)

(religion) The status of being cardinalitial


spooky

en-adj

spooky (comparative spookier, superlative spookiest)

spookier (comparative)
spookiest (superlative)

(informal) Eerie, or suggestive of ghosts or the supernatural.


gravamen

en-noun

gravamen (plural gravamens or gravamina)

/ɡɹəˈveɪmɛn/

/ɡɹəˈveɪmən/

/ɡɹəˈveɪmɪnə/

Learned borrowing from Late Latin gravāmen (“physical inconvenience”) and Medieval Latin gravāmen (“grievance”), from Latin gravāre + -men (suffix forming neuter nouns of the third declension). Gravāre is the present active infinitive of gravō (“to burden, weigh down; to oppress”), from gravis (“heavy; grave, serious; hard, troublesome”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- (“heavy”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
The plural form gravamina is derived from Late Latin gravāmina.

lbor

In the mean while, it was reſolved at the Synod, that ſince they muſt wait for the cited Remonſtrants, they would enter upon ſome of the Gravamina, or Points of Grievance which the Churches had laid before the Provincial Synods.

1722, Gerard Brandt, “Book XXXIII”, in [anonymous], transl., The History of the Reformation and Other Ecclesiastical Transactions in and about the Low-countries, from the Beginning of the Eighth Century, down to the Famous Synod of Dort, inclusive. […], volume III, London: […] T[homas] Wood, for John Nicks, […], →OCLC, page 24:

Sometimes also committees were appointed to hear the complaints of clergymen and form "gravamina" upon the evidence produced. And "gravamina" of such a formal and authoritative character, if emanating from the lower house, were usually presented by the prolocutor.

1855, James Wayland Joyce, “English Synods. From the Accession of Archbishop John de Peccham to the Death of Archbishop John Morton, A.D. 1279–1500.”, in England’s Sacred Synods. A Constitutional History of the Convocations of the Clergy, from the Earliest Records of Christianity in Britain to the Date of the Promulgation of the Present Book of Common Prayer: […], London: Rivingtons, […], →OCLC, page 316:

(Anglicanism) A document sent by the Lower House of Convocation to the Upper House to inform the latter of certain grievances in the church.


ghazwa

en-noun

ghazwa (plural ghazwas or ghazwat or ghazawat)

ghazwas (plural)
ghazwat (plural)
ghazawat (plural)

From Arabic غَزْوَة (ḡazwa). Doublet of razzia.

(Islam, historical) Any of the battles in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad personally participated.


SAW

صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
صلى الله عليه وسلم#Arabic

(Islam, sometimes proscribed) صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ (ṣallā llāhu ʕalayhi wa-sallama, “peace be upon him”)


Aghori

From Sanskrit अघोर (aghora, “fearless”).

A tribe of Hindu ascetics who are or were thought to eat the flesh of corpses.


anthroposophy

/ˌænθɹəˈpɑsəfi/

/ˌænθɹəˈpɒsəfi/

From anthropo- + -sophy, from Renaissance Latin anthroposophia (attested in Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, d. 1535, and Thomas Vaughan, d. 1666), popularized from the 1910s via German Anthroposophie (Rudolf Steiner, 1861–1925).

Anthroposophy was having definite effects. I couldn't take any of this to heart. Other-worldliness tinged it all and every little while my spirit seemed to dissociate itself.

1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 223:

A philosophy founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner (also capitalized as Anthroposophy), postulating the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development.


renew

en-verb

renew (third-person singular simple present renews, present participle renewing, simple past and past participle renewed)

renews (present singular third-person)
renewing (participle present)
renewed (participle past)
renewed (past)

From Middle English renewen, an alteration (possibly on analogy with Latin renovāre) of earlier anewen (“to renew”), from Old English nīewian (“to restore; renovate; renew”), equivalent to re- + new. Cognate with Old High German giniuwōn (“to renew”), Middle High German geniuwen (“to renew”), Old Norse nýja (“to renew”).

cog

And fassion not youre selves lyke vnto this worlde: But be ye chaunged in youre shape by the renuynge of youre wittes that ye maye fele what thynge that good yt acceptable and perfaycte will of god is.

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Romans xij:[2]:

For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 4:16:

(theology) To make new spiritually; to regenerate.

подновя́вам

to substitute for a new one of the same nature


restoration

en-noun

restoration (countable and uncountable, plural restorations)

/ɹɛstəˈɹeɪʃən/

From Middle English restoracion, altered from restauracion (from Latin restaurātiō) by partly deriving from restoren + -acion. By surface analysis, restore + -ation.

(theology) The receiving of a sinner to divine favor.


ghostly

en-adj

ghostly (comparative ghostlier, superlative ghostliest)

ghostlier (comparative)
ghostliest (superlative)

From Middle English gostly, gastlich, from Old English gāstlīċ (“spiritual, holy, clerical (not lay), ghastly, ghostly, spectral”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaistalīk (“spiritual”), equivalent to ghost + -ly. Cognate with Scots ghaistly, gaistly (“spiritual, ghastly, terrifying”), West Frisian geastlik (“spiritual, clerical, religious”), Dutch geestelijk (“spiritual, clerical, ecclesiastical”), German geistlich (“spiritual, sacred, religious”), Danish geistlig (“ecclesiastical, clerical”).

cog

A ghostly hush fell.

Scores of coconut-shell fires blazed with their characteristic glaring white flame, throwing grotesque shadows on the brown thatched huts, dancing in fairylike shimmerings among the domes of coconut fronds, casting ghostly reaches of light through the adjacent graveyards, and silhouetting the forms of pareu-clad natives at work cleaning their fish or laying them on the live coals to broil.

1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 35:

His lips were chapped and lined with a ghostly purple fringe.

2019, Dave Eggers, The Parade, N.Y.: Vintage Books, page 134:


fiver

From five + -er (measurement suffix) or + -er (“supporter”).

(Islam) A Zaydi Shiite Muslim, who disagrees with the majority of Shiites on the identity of the Fifth Imam.

(religion) A person who gives five percent of their income or five hours a week of their time to charity (a reduction of ten percent tithing).


theocrat

(politics, religion) The ruler of a theocracy, a priest-king.

(politics, religion) A proponent of theocracy.


klar

In Karen animism, one of the thirty-seven spirits that are said to embody every individual.


kenosis

en-noun

kenosis (countable and uncountable, plural kenoses)

From Ancient Greek κένωσις (kénōsis, “emptying”) (see keno- and κενό (kenó)), from κενόειν (kenóein, “to empty”) (with reference to Philippians 2.vii, "But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are" – New Jerusalem Version).

der

(Christianity) Christ's voluntary abasement consisting of humanity and the simultaneous occultation of the Divinity.


collegial

en-adj

collegial (comparative more collegial, superlative most collegial)

more collegial (comparative)
most collegial (superlative)

From Middle English collegial, from Middle French collégial.

(Roman Catholicism) Ruled by bishops having equal power.

col·legial

Roman Catholic Church: ruled by bishops having equal power


theosophist

What can it be but the heaving of the Hypochondria that lifts up the Mind to such high comparisons from a supposition so false and foolish? But I have observed generally of Chymists^([sic]) and Theosophists, as of feveral other men more palpably mad, that their thoughts are carried much to Astrology, it being a fancifull study built upon very slight grounds, and indeed I do not queftion, but a relique of the ancient superstition and Idolatry amongst the rude Heathens, which either their own Melancholy, or something worse, instructed them in.

1662, Henry More, “A brief discourse of the nature, causes, kinds, and cure of enthusiasm”, in A collection of several philosophical writings, 2nd edition, London: Flesher, page 30, or, § xliv:

An advocate of, or believer in theosophy.

teosofi

an advocate of, or believer in theosophy


Ceres

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Ceres.wav

Learned borrowing from Latin Cerēs, goddess of the bounty, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to grow, to nourish”). More at create.

der

(Roman mythology) The Roman goddess of agriculture; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.


Zwinglian

From Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), Swiss Protestant reformer, + -an.

A follower of Zwingli, who disagreed with Luther in rejecting the doctrine of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.


Shema

bor

Hebrew שְׁמַע

The central declaration of faith of Judaism, recited at least twice daily by religious Jews.


theosophy

en-noun

theosophy (usually uncountable, plural theosophies)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-theosophy.wav

From Medieval Latin theosophia, from Ancient Greek θεοσοφῐ́ᾱ (theosophíā, “knowledge of things divine”, from θεός (theós, “god”) + σοφῐ́ᾱ (sophíā, “wisdom”)); analogous to theo- + -sophy.

der

They have their own traditions of art and science. They do not […] discuss God or metaphysics or men. […] All their wisdom and theosophy, and all their grasp of beauty, truth or love, is in the singing. […] They look unloving enough, and so they are. Pitiless fallen angels.

1984 Oct, Tanith Lee, “Bite-Me-Not, or Fleur de Feu”, in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, volume 8, Davis Publications, →ISSN:

(philosophy, religion) Any doctrine of religious philosophy and mysticism claiming that knowledge of God can be attained through mystical insight and spiritual ecstasy, and that direct communication with the transcendent world is possible.

θεοσοφία

The religious ideas of late Renaissance alchemists were based on the Paracelsian theosophical system, which was a half-pagan, half-Christian belief system, both a mystical path and a theurgic practice.

2000, Urszula Szulakowska, The alchemy of light : geometry and optics in late Renaissance alchemical illustration, Leiden [u.a.]: Brill, →ISBN, page 11:

(religion) Any system which claims to attain communication with God and superior spirits by physical processes.


chela

In fact, Gilgamesh's instructions are still-valid directions from the guru to the chela.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 184:

The guru had insight. He understood his chela. The relationship between a guru and his chela was as a father to a son, as a whole person to a whole person, individual and unique.

1987, Phirozshah Dorabji Mehta, The Heart of Religion, page 36:

The guru-chela relationship was a theme in many of Nicholas's paintings. In Pearl of Searching, the guru is looking thoughtfully at a pearl necklace with his chela. This symbolizes the "pearl of great price" that gives purpose to life.

2002, Warrior of Light: The Life of Nicholas Roerich: Artist, Himalayan Explorer, and Visionary, page 52:

This, of course, is done by the guru as the result of a long process in which his consciousness must merge with that of the chela and wherein the chela is absorbed essentially into the guru.

2007, Michael Bertiaux, The Voudon Gnostic Workbook: Expanded Edition, page 455:

A pupil or disciple, especially in Hinduism. [from 19th c.]


Inquisition

We know from history that the Catholic Church has historically murdered, mutilated, castrated, maimed, imprisoned and flogged homosexuals. Catholic atrocities during the Inquisition are well documented and cannot be denied. The Church no longer does those things to homosexuals, but it violates their human rights in other ways.

1981 December 27, John Rupkey, “Leading The Way In Persecution”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 23, page 4:

(historical) A tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church set up to investigate and suppress heresy.


Triton

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Triton.wav

(Greek mythology) A god of the sea, son of Poseidon.


fylfot

Uncertain, but likely from Middle English fillen (“to fill”) (from Old English fyllan) + fot (“foot”) (from Old English fōt), in reference to its use as a design to be placed at the bottom of stained-glass windows.

Morley: A year and a half ago I stumbled into your gingerbread office, a lost, frightened soul in terrified flight across the great yawning terror of doubt—a human being, in short!—and you chanted some hagridden formulas and danged some fylfots...

There was a coffee tray on top of it, and spilt coffee part hid the fylfot design of the tray.

1982, Anthony Burgess, The End of the World News:

A swastika, especially one with the arms bent in an anticlockwise direction.


Talmud

Borrowed from Hebrew תַּלְמוּד (talmúd, “instruction, learning”).

bor+

On any given Friday night at the Claremont Colleges, between 15 and 20 Jewish students gather to sing wordless melodies, dive into textual study of Talmud or James Baldwin, or hold workshops on antisemitism.

2019 July 3, Jess Schwalb, “Red Line Rebellion”, in Jewish Currents:

(Judaism) A collection of Jewish writings related to the practical application of Judaic law and tradition (may refer to either the Babylonian Talmud or the shorter Jerusalem Talmud).


Zoroastrianism

/ˌzɒɹəʊˈæstɹɪəˌnɪzəm/

From Zoroastrian + -ism, influenced by Greek, Latin, Arabic and Syriac reports of Zoroaster (“Zarathustra”) as the “lawgiver” of the Iranian peoples, as reviewed in Thomas Hyde's Veterum Persarum et Parthorum et Medorum Religionis Historia, 1700.

Zarathustrianism

coined by Hermann Lommel (and popularized by Ilya Gershevitch) to denote the prophet's own doctrine as distinguished from later accretions; from Zarathustra

Zarathustricism

the teachings of Younger Avestan texts, as distinct from Zarathustrianism and also from later accretions

Mazdaism

the religion in which Ahura Mazda is the supreme divinity

Parseeism

archaic: the religion of the Parsees of the Indian subcontinent, long believed to be the only surviving community of Zoroastrians

(common) Mazdaism, the surviving form of the indigenous (pre-Islamic) Iranian ethnic religion.

Zoroastrisme

religion and philosophy ascribed to Zoroaster


ming

From Chinese 命 (mìng, “destiny, fate; luck”).


vagus

Borrowing from Latin vagus (“wandering, rambling, strolling”).

bor

Though not referred in the Code as a domicile of origin, a child's place of origin is fixed by the place where his father had his domicile or, in defect of domicile, his quasi-domicile when the child was born, or where the mother had hers if the child was illegitimate or posthumous; if the parents were vagi it is the place where the child was born; if the child was a foundling the place where it was discovered.

1922, “Domicile”, in Charles George Herbermann, Edward A. Pace, editors, The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, volume 17, page 270:

(Roman Catholicism) A homeless person or vagrant.


Zoroastrian

/ˌzɒɹəʊˈæstɹɪən/


vrata

Transliteration of Sanskrit व्रत (vratá). Related to the group word, verb, and verve, from the same Proto-Indo-European root, *werh₁- (“to speak, say”).

transliteration

(Hinduism, Jainism) A pious observance such as fasting and pilgrimage.


ROC

Translingual: ROC

Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church#English

(Russia) Abbreviation of Russian Orthodox Church.


Immaculate Conception

(Catholicism) The doctrine, in the Roman Catholic Church, that the Virgin Mary was conceived biologically but free from original sin.

(Roman Catholicism) December 8th (The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary).

(Roman Catholicism) A title of Mary, in particular reference to her unique status with regard to the aforementioned doctrine.


filling

1903, William Edward Biederwolf, A Help to the Study of the Holy Spirit, James H. Earle & Company (publ.), page 100.
As learned Dr. Hodge has reminded us, any impartation of the Holy Spirit is a baptism, and certainly, apart from biblical phraseology, a filling with the Spirit may be called a baptism with the Spirit.

All these terms referencing the work of the Holy Spirit—coming upon, falling upon, being filled with the Holy Spirit, receiving the promise of the Father—can best be understood as synonymous with baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the key to understanding being “one baptism, many fillings.”

2011, Raymond F. Culpepper, Understanding the Ministry of the Holy Spirit, Pathway Press, page 33:

Other signs followed their subsequent fillings with the Holy Spirit, but the first filling was immediately followed by the speaking in other tongues.

2016, Zacharias Tanee Fomum, You Can Receive The Baptism Into The Holy Spirit Now, self-published:

(Protestantism) A religious experience attributed to the Holy Ghost "filling" a believer.


penance

en-noun

penance (countable and uncountable, plural penances)

From Middle English penaunce, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French peneance, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”). Doublet of penitence.

der

A sacrament in some Christian churches that involves penitence (remorse plus restitution via prayer).


pillar

From Middle English piler, from Old French pilier, from Medieval Latin or Vulgar Latin *pilāre (“a pillar”), from Latin pila (“a pillar, pier, mole”).

two laye-men secular
eache of theym holdynge a pillar
In their hondes, steade of a mace

(Roman Catholicism) A portable ornamental column, formerly carried before a cardinal, as emblematic of his support to the church.


dispense

en-verb

dispense (third-person singular simple present dispenses, present participle dispensing, simple past and past participle dispensed)

dispenses (present singular third-person)
dispensing (participle present)
dispensed (participle past)
dispensed (past)

From Middle English, from Old French dispenser, from Latin dispēnsāre (“to weigh out, pay out, distribute, regulate, manage, control, dispense”), frequentative of dispendere (“to weigh out”), from dis- (“apart”) + pendere (“to weigh”).

der

One loving howre / For many yeares of sorrow can dispence

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 30:

His synne was dispensed with golde, wherof it was compensed

c. 1386–1390, John Gower, edited by Reinhold Pauli, Confessio Amantis of John Gower: Edited and Collated with the Best Manuscripts, volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Bell and Daldy […], published 1857, →OCLC:

(intransitive, obsolete) To compensate; to make up; to make amends.


amma

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin amma, from Classical Syriac ܐܸܡܵܐ (ʾemmā, “mother, abbess”).

For quotations using this term, see Citations:amma.

(Christianity, historical) An abbess or spiritual mother, especially one of the Desert Mothers.


antitrinitarianism

(theology) Rejection of the Trinitarian doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons in the single substance of the Holy Trinity; nontrinitarianism.

antitrinitarisme

rejection of the doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons


scrutiny

en-noun

scrutiny (usually uncountable, plural scrutinies)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-scrutiny.wav

From Middle English scrutiny, from Medieval Latin scrūtinium (“a search, an inquiry”), from Vulgar Latin scrūtor (“to search or examine thoroughly”), from Late Latin scrūta (“rubbish, broken trash”), from an extension of Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”).

der

(Christianity) An examination of catechumens, in the last week of Lent, who were to receive baptism on Easter Day.


IS

IS

Islamic State, abbreviation — see also Islamic State


antitrinitarian

en-adj

antitrinitarian (comparative more antitrinitarian, superlative most antitrinitarian)

more antitrinitarian (comparative)
most antitrinitarian (superlative)

(theology) Rejecting the Trinitarian doctrine that God subsists as three distinct Persons in the single substance of the Holy Trinity.

antitrinitarisch

rejecting the doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons


antitrinitarian

(theology) One who rejects the doctrine (or dogma) of the Trinity, the Trinitarian doctrine.

Antitrinitarier

one who rejects the Trinitarian doctrine


assurance

en-noun

assurance (countable and uncountable, plural assurances)

From Middle English assuraunce, from Old French asseürance, from asseürer; as if assure + -ance.

(theology) Subjective certainty of one's salvation.


recollection

recollection (usually uncountable, plural recollections)

/ɹɛkəˈlɛkʃən/

Via French récollection or the verb recollect, both from Latin recollectus, the past participle of recolligere (“to collect again”), itself from re- + colligere (“to gather”).

From such an education Charles contracted habits of gravity and recollection.

In a world filled with media and electronic devices, recollection can be difficult.

(archaic or Catholicism) The act or practice of collecting or concentrating the mind; concentration; self-control.

zklidnění mysli

archaic: the act or practice of collecting or concentrating the mind

(Catholicism) A spiritual retreat, especially one that is short.


iconostasis

iconostasis (plural iconostases or iconostaseis)

iconostases (plural)
iconostaseis (plural)

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek εἰκονόστασις (eikonóstasis), from εἰκών (eikṓn, “icon”) + στάσις (stásis, “fixture”).

bor+

εἰκονόστασις

The altar was hidden behind an Iconostasis. The church was looked after by an old sacristan who lived in a cottage on the shore of the lake.

1932, Maurice Baring, chapter 10, in Friday's Business:

(Eastern Orthodoxy) A wall of icons between the sanctuary and the nave in an Eastern Orthodox church.


Ayyavazhi

A henotheistic religion that originated in South India in the mid-nineteenth century.


res judicata

From Latin rēs (“thing, matter, affair”) and jūdicata, feminine nominative singular form of jūdicatus, past participle of jūdico (“judge”).

(law) The legal doctrine that claims that a case already decided in a proceeding may not be brought in any later proceeding.


jake

en-noun

jake (countable and uncountable, plural jakes)

It is possible that the governments have found the cause of the poisoned “jake” in their investigations into the Jamaica ginger deaths throughout the South and Southwest.

1930, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, Administration of Federal Food and Drugs Act: Hearings..., page 1854:

(US, slang, uncountable) Jamaica ginger.


ankh

From Egyptian anx-Z1 (ꜥnḫ, “life, to live, symbol for life”).


anatta

en-noun

anatta (countable and uncountable, plural anattas)

From Pali anattan, from Sanskrit अनात्मन् (anātman, “no soul”), from अन्- (an-, “non-, un-, a-”) + आत्मन् (ātman, “soul”).

The texts indicate that when the Buddha's first disciples heard about anatta, their hearts were filled with joy and they immediately experienced Nirvana.

2009, Karen Armstrong, The Case for God, Vintage, published 2010, page 33:

three marks of existence
three marks of existence

(Buddhism) The idea that there is no separate self or soul; egolessness. One of the three marks of existence.

ဢၼတ်ႉတႃႉ

ʼǎ nâ̰t tâ̰a


collate

en-verb

collate (third-person singular simple present collates, present participle collating, simple past and past participle collated)

collates (present singular third-person)
collating (participle present)
collated (participle past)
collated (past)

From Latin collātum, past participle of cōnferō. Not related to collateral.

(transitive, Christianity) To admit a cleric to a benefice; to present and institute in a benefice, when the person presenting is both the patron and the ordinary; followed by to.


hereafter

en-noun

hereafter (countable and uncountable, plural hereafters)

/hɪəˈɹɑːftə/

From Old English hēræfter (“in the aftertime; later on”). By surface analysis, here + after.

inh

'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us; / 'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter, / and intimates eternity to man.

1712, Joseph Addison, Cato, a Tragedy, act 5, scene 1:

see also Thesaurus:life after death or Thesaurus:afterlife

(poetic, uncommon) Existence after death.


Tannenbaum

Borrowed from German Tannenbaum (“fir tree”).

Oh, Tannenbaum, oh, Tannenbaum, how lovely are thy branches.

Local newspapers covered the story of how Santa Claus had helped the Tannenbaum.


god-king

devaraja

Southeast Asian, Hindu-Buddhist divine monarch

A statesman who holds all the state's powers and has religious significance to his constituency.

(mythology, literally) A king who is of divine descent.

(literally) A monarch who is also a god.


disciple

en-verb

disciple (third-person singular simple present disciples, present participle discipling, simple past and past participle discipled)

disciples (present singular third-person)
discipling (participle present)
discipled (participle past)
discipled (past)

From Middle English disciple, discipul, from Old English discipul (“disciple, scholar”), from Latin discipulus (“pupil, learner”). Later influenced or superseded in Middle English by Old French deciple.

inh

(religion, transitive) To convert (a person) into a disciple.

fraile youth is oft to follie led, / Through false allurement of that pleasing baite, / That better were in vertues discipled […]

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

(religion, transitive) To train, educate, teach.

(Christianity, certain denominations) To routinely counsel (one's peer or junior) one-on-one in their discipleship of Christ, as a fellow affirmed disciple.


Bible thumper

Zeal and knowledge have here a wide field ; the calm, thoughtful logician ; the cold, phlegmatic reasoner ; the cautious, pathetic pleader ; the shouting, stamping Bible thumper ; all have their mission, all have their followers and admirers...

1870, J. Ashworth, “Old Ab'.”, in Strange Tales from Humble Life, Manchester: Tubbs and Brook, page 253:

The terms "Blue Light," "Holy Joe" and "Bible Thumper" began to lose some of their venom ; religion in the army was respected.

1900 June 16, Joseph Paul, “Lord Roberts in Times of Peace”, in The Standard, volume 47, number 42, Chicago: Goodman & Dickerson, page 7:

But in spite of the antics of its Bible thumpers and its boobocracy, my father was unable to stay mad at the United States for long.

1984, Anthony West, H.G. Wells: Aspects of a Life, London: Hutchinson, →ISBN, →OL, page 126:

(derogatory) A Christian fundamentalist or overzealous evangelical Christian.


Last Supper

(Christianity) The Passover meal that Jesus ate with his disciples on the night before his death.


seventh heaven

(Judaism, Islam) The empyrean, the outermost of the heavenly spheres; a dwelling of the angels.


gaja

Audio (US)

Transliteration of Sanskrit गज (gaja, “elephant; gaja”).

translit

(Hinduism) The sacred name for the elephant


Gnosticism

en-noun

Gnosticism (countable and uncountable, plural Gnosticisms)

Another contemporary scholar of Gnosticism, C. G. Jung, has taken this notion of the twin ray and applied it to his own model of the contrasexual nature of the self.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 31:

A wide variety of Jewish and early Christian sects having an interest in gnosis, or divine knowledge, and generally holding the belief that there is a god greater than the Demiurge, or the creator of the world.


Abdals

From Arabic أَبْدَال (ʔabdāl, “replacements”).

der

(Islam) a group of saints responsible for the continuing existence of the world


novena

From Ecclesiastical Latin novēna, from Latin novēnus (“nine [each]”).

(Roman Catholicism) A recitation of prayers and devotions for nine consecutive days, especially one to a saint to ask for their intercession.


epistolary

1620s, from Latin epistolārius, from epistola (“letter”) (English epistle) + -ārius, from Ancient Greek ἐπιστολή (epistolḗ) from ἐπιστέλλω (epistéllō, “I send a message”) from ἐπί (epí, “upon”) + στέλλω (stéllō, “I prepare, send”). For the noun, compare Middle English pistelarie and Old English pistelari, both from Medieval Latin epistolārium, possibly via an unattested *epistelari, *epistolarie.

(Christianity) A Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles.


Augustinian

of, or relating to several religious orders influenced by him

augustinolainen

of or relating to religious order influenced by him


Latter-day Saint

en-noun

Latter-day Saint (plural Latter-day Saints)

The early Latter-day Saints used to practice polygamy.

A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or other Latter-day Saint churches.

末世聖徒

末世圣徒 (mut⁶ sai³ sing³ tou⁴) (former translation)

末世圣徒 (Mòshì Shèngtú) (former translation)


Bishop of Rome

(Christianity) The pope of the Roman Catholic Church.


inquisitor

From Old French inquisiteur, from Latin inquīsītor.

A person who inquires, especially searchingly or ruthlessly.


LDS

Latter-day Saint
Latter-day Saint#English


suitheism

Coined by American occultists David Michael Cunningham and Traeonna A. R. Wagener, from Latin sui (“of oneself”) and theism.

Finally, in suitheism we have the belief that not only do gods exist, but that we are divine as well.

2008, Diana L. Paxson, Trance-Portation: Learning to Navigate the Inner World, page 187:


Church of England

The English branch of the Christian Church; (since the 16th century) specifically the established Protestant church in England which is the mother church of the Anglican Communion.