thetan

Coined by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, from theta + -n, from Ancient Greek θῆτα (thêta, “theta”), used in Scientology to represent the source of life.

coined

Actually a thetan is in a very, very small amount of mass. From some experiments conducted about fifteen or twenty years ago – a thetan weighed about 1.5 ounces!

1972, Report of the Commission of Enquiry into Scientology for 1972 (R. P. 55/1973), Pretoria: Government Printer, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 198:

According to Scientology doctrine, each human being is actually a thetan or spirit, an immortal, godlike expression of the life force (theta). […] In his writings, Hubbard traces the existence of this life force back trillions of years. In the beginning theta was separate from the physical universe. Theta had no energy or mass, time or location; it was simply energy. Thetans therefore existed before and are the original source of the material universe.

2009, David G. Bromley, “Making Sense of Scientology: Prophetic, Contractual Religion”, in James R. Lewis, editor, Scientology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 91:

One of the things Hubbard claimed he had "discovered" was that the essence of the human being was a spiritual being. This spiritual being, which is in itself good and fully conscious, Hubbard called a "thetan." From this deeper understanding of the human essence, where he saw survival as the fundamental urge for all thetans, he also discovered that the four dynamics of Dianetics had to be expanded to eight: […]

2014, Kjersti Hellesøy, “Scientology: The Making of a Religion”, in James R. Lewis, Jesper Aa[gaard] Petersen, editors, Controversial New Religions, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 260:


God botherer

(UK, slang, derogatory) An excessively pious person.


Chazal

From Hebrew חז״ל (khazál), which is an acronym for חכמינו זיכרונם לברכה (khakhaméinu zikhronám livrakhá, “our sages, of blessed memory”).

(Judaism) The sages from the time of the Second Temple and afterward, through the sixth century C.E.


suffrage

en-noun

suffrage (usually uncountable, plural suffrages)

From Middle English suffrage (“prayers or pleas on behalf of another”), from Old French, from Medieval Latin suffragium, from Latin suffragium (“support, vote, right of voting”). The sense of "vote" or "right to vote" was directly derived from classical Latin.

der

1564, Pope Pius IV (unknown translator), Creed of Pope Pius IV
I firmly believe that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful.

As these holy prayers and suffrages following are set forth of most godly zeal for edifying and stirring of devotion of all true faithful Christian hearts […]

1969, G. J. Cuming, A history of Anglican liturgy:

In explaining and defending suffrages for the dead, Catholic argument repeatedly involved the assumption of the importance of time.

2006, John E. Curran, Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency: Not to Be, page 86:

(countable, Christianity) A prayer, for example a prayer offered for the faithful dead.

Lastly, in this suffrage, we intercede for prisoners and captives; we "remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them."

1904, John Newton McCormick, The litany and the life: a series of studies in the litany ..., page 222:

(countable, Christianity) A short petition, as those after the creed in matins and evensong.


Bacchus

From the Latin Bacchus, from the Ancient Greek Βάκχος (Bákkhos).

(Roman mythology) Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and vivid social gatherings.


Whitsunday

Inherited from Middle English Whitsonday, from whit (“white”) + Sonday (“Sunday”), from Old English hwīt sunnandæg, probably from the white clothes worn by newly baptized Christians as Pentecost was a traditional date of baptism in early medieval England. Doublet of White Sunday.

inh+

Whitsunday Region, a local government area in northern Queensland, Australia.


piety

en-noun

piety (countable and uncountable, plural pieties)

From Middle English piete, borrowed from Middle French pieté, from Latin pietās. See also the doublets pietà and pity.

Colleen's piety led her to make sacrifices that most people would not have made.

(uncountable, religion) Reverence and devotion to God.


observance

observance (countable and uncountable, plural observances)

From Old French observance, from Latin observantia. Equivalent of observe + -ance.

Thomas Merton was a monk in the Order of Cistertians of the Strict Observance.

(religion) A rule governing a religious order, especially in the Roman Catholic church.

обряд

(religion) a rule governing a religious order, especially in the Roman Catholic church


Oceanid

(Greek mythology) Any of the sea nymphs, daughters of Oceanus and Tethys.


Uzziel

From Hebrew עֻזִּיאֵל (“strength of God”).

Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.

When Gabriel to his next in power thus spake.
Uzziel, half these draw off, and coast the South
With strictest watch;

1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 781–783:


Philip

en-proper noun

Philip (countable and uncountable, plural Philips)

From Middle English Philip, ultimately from Ancient Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), name of ancient kings of Macedonia, from φίλιππος (phílippos, “fond of horses”), from φιλέω (philéō, “I love”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”).

af

(uncountable) One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the Bible; one of the seven deacons.


Old Nick

Originally 17th century. Apparently a special use of the forename Nick, perhaps in jocular or contrastive reference to Saint Nicholas. Alternatively, it may be derived from nicker, or some other derivative of Old English nicor (“water demon”).

He sat down in the middle of the floor, took his chalk out and marked a large ring around him, and round about this he wrote the Lord's Prayer, and then he did not feel afraid even if Old Nick himself should come.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 158:


archdevil

/ɑɹt͡ʃˈdɛvəl/

/ɑɹt͡ʃˈdɛvɪl/

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

From the context and other parts of the work, we are to understand that the demons here described are the personal friends of our sovereign, and that the archdevil was the mother of our sovereign.

1802, The Anti-Jacobin Review and Magazine, Volume 12, Open Court Publishing Company, page 30:

In short, it is purely the work of the devil that they are doing, and especially that of the archdevil, who presides at Muhlhausen, and directs nothing but robbery, murder and bloodshed.

1841, George Waddington, A History of the Reformation on the Continent: In Three Volumes, Duncan and Malcolm, page 155:

A spirit of ultraism seems to pervade the whole community. The language of Milton's archdevil "Evil, be thou my good" is the creed of modern reformers, or, in other words — anything for a change. What is to come of all this, I have not wisdom even to guess. It is an age of transition and whether you and I live to see the elements of the moral and political world at rest, is, I think, extretmely doubtful.

1851, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers: With Brief Notices of Passing Events, Facts, and Opinions, A.D. 1812 to A.D. 1842, Lippincott, Grambo and Company, page 517:

The bishops in question were described as archdevils, priests of Baal, standard-bearers of the Balaamites, and children of perdition.

1896, Marvin Richardson Vincent, The Age of Hildebrand, Christian Literature Company, page 267:

They are archdevils. Partake not of anything from their hands. Now I shall sell myself and do this act if only I have thee at my back.

1940, United States Congress, The Madras Law Journal, page 813:

(theology, rare, religion, fantasy, science fiction) A chief or reigning devil.


Book of Common Prayer

Wikisource Book of Common Prayer (canonical)

The liturgy of the Church of England, first compiled by Thomas Cranmer in 1549 after the (Act of Uniformity).


gotra

(Hinduism) The lineage or clan assigned to a Hindu at birth.


extreme unction

From extreme (“to limit, final”) + unction (“anointing”).

compound

Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick

(Christianity) The Catholic sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.


taqwa

It involves abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations from dawn to sunset, in the hopes that it will lead to greater "taqwa", or consciousness of God.

2020 April 20, Sami Rahman, “Ramadan 2020: The health benefits of fasting”, in Al Jazeera:

(Islam) The care taken by a person to obey the commands of Allah.


Anointing of the Sick

A Catholic sacrament in which a priest anoints a sick or dying person with oil and prays for his salvation.


elder

From Middle English eldre, from Old English eldra, yldra, ieldra, from Proto-Germanic *alþizô. The vowel change from a to e triggered by the following i is called umlaut or I-mutation.

長老

Mormonism: title for a male missionary or a general authority

After being a member of the Church for a while, Bill was ordained to the office of elder.

Jack had been an elder for only a few days when he received a new calling.

(US, Mormonism) One ordained to the lowest office in the Melchizedek priesthood.

Ältester

Mormonism: one ordained to the lowest office in the Melchizedek priesthood

The elders are coming over for dinner tonight.

One of the long-time leaders in the Church is Elder Packer.

(Mormonism, often capitalized) Title for a male missionary; title for a general authority.

(Germanic paganism) A pagan or Heathen priest or priestess.


elder

en-verb

elder (third-person singular simple present elders, present participle eldering, simple past and past participle eldered)

elders (present singular third-person)
eldering (participle present)
eldered (participle past)
eldered (past)

I was eldered for directly responding to someone else's message in meeting for worship.

(Quakerism) To admonish or reprove for improper conduct by the elders of the meeting.


on high

From Middle English on heigh, on an heigh (“in or into heaven; up to heaven”) [and other forms], from Old English on hēagum (“on high”); hēagum is an inflected form of hēah (“high; tall”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kewk- (“height; to elevate”). The English word is equivalent to on + high. Compare Dutch omhoog (“upwards, on high”), West Frisian omheech (“upwards”).

inh

Who is like vnto the Lord our God: who dwelleth on high: […]

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 113:5, column 1:

The trumpet ſhall be heard on high, / The dead ſhall live, the living die, / And Muſic ſhall untune the ſky.

1687, John Dryden, “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, 1687”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume II, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 271:

(specifically, chiefly Christianity, literary) Up in, or to, Heaven.


sermon

From Middle English sermoun, from Anglo-Norman sermun and/or Old French sermon, from Latin sermō, sermōnem, from Proto-Indo-European *sermō, from *ser- (“to bind”) + *-mō.

One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.

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

Religious discourse; a written or spoken address on a religious or moral matter.


pontiff

Borrowed from Middle French pontife m, from Latin pontifex m. Doublet of pontifex.

(historical, Ancient Rome) A member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs; a pontifex.

In several respects John turned out to be an unexpected figure as supreme pontiff.

2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge, published 2008, page 46:

A bishop of the early Church; now specifically, the Pope.

(figuratively) Any chief figure or leader of a religion.


lantzman

Borrowed from Yiddish לאַנדסמאַן (landsman). Doublet of landsman.

A fellow Jew who grew up in the same Eastern European shtetl as the speaker.


Orangeman

/ˈɒɹɪnd͡ʒmən/

/ˈɒɹənd͡ʒmən/

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

A member of the Orange Order, a Protestant society in the United Kingdom (especially Northern Ireland).


Isaac

en-proper noun

Isaac (countable and uncountable, plural Isaacs)

→ Pohnpeian: Aisek

From Middle English Ysaac, from Latin Isaac, from Ancient Greek Ἰσαάκ (Isaák), from Hebrew יצחק (Yiṣḥāq, literally “he laughs, he will laugh”). Explained in Genesis as referring to his mother Sarah’s laughing when she was told she would have a son at her old age. The verb is masculine, however, perhaps due to its use as a boy’s name.

der

And Abraham circumciſed his ſonne Iſaac, being eight dayes old, as God had commanded him.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 21:4, column 1:

(biblical) The son of Abraham and Sarah, father of Esau and Jacob, from whom the Hebrew people trace their descent.


Prometheus

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

From Ancient Greek Προμηθεύς (Promētheús), from πρό (pró, “before”) + μανθάνω (manthánō, “to think”).

(Greek mythology) The Titan chiefly honored for stealing fire from Zeus in the stalk of a fennel plant and giving it to mortals for their use. The god of fire and craft.


quad

Shortened, via clipping or abbreviation, from various English terms. Ultimately related to Latin quattuor (“4”); compare quadri-, quadruple.
The typography senses are from the abbreviation quad. for obsolete quadrat; the keyboard command comes from the verb sense.

Clipping of quadruplet (“a set of four; one of a set of four”).

(Mormonism) The Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price bound in a single volume.


necromancer

/ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsɚ/

An alteration of nigromancer; equivalent to necro- + -mancer.

Necromancers were thought to have the power of restoring activity to the dead, either temporarily or permanently[.]

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 52:

A person who practices or performs necromancy.


prayer book

Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer

(when capitalized) The Book of Common Prayer.


camerlengo

Borrowed from Italian camerlengo (“chamberlain”). Doublet of chamberlain.

bor+

Benedict will also stop using the so-called fisherman’s ring to seal documents. It will be destroyed by the cardinal camerlengo, the acting head of state of Vatican City during the “sede vacante,” the canon law term used when the papacy is vacant.

2013 February 26, Gaia Pianigiani, Elisabetta Povoledo, “Benedict XVI to Be Known as Emeritus in Retirement”, in New York Times:

Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

The cardinal who administers the Roman Catholic Church in the interregnum between Popes.


preach

From Middle English prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō. Doublet of predicate.
The Latin word is also the source of Old English predician (“to preach”), Saterland Frisian preetje (“to preach”), West Frisian preekje (“to preach”), Dutch preken (“to preach”), German Low German preken (“to preach”), German predigen (“to preach”), Danish prædike (“to preach”), Swedish predika (“to preach”), Icelandic prédika (“to preach”), Norwegian Nynorsk preika (“to preach”).

he make peace in his preaches and play with esteem

1939 May 4, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, London: Faber and Faber Limited, →OCLC; republished London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1960, →OCLC:


ordination

en-noun

ordination (countable and uncountable, plural ordinations)

From Middle French ordination, from Old French ordinacion, from Latin ordinatio.

(Christianity) The ceremony in which a priest is consecrated, considered a sacrament in the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

(Buddhism) the ceremony in which a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni is ordained into the sangha


Rama

en:Rama (disambiguation)
en:Rendezvous with Rama

Borrowed from Sanskrit रमा (ramā).
* (Oumuamua): The nickname derives from the similarity of Oumuamua to the fictional object "Rama" in the story Rendezvous with Rama, where that fictional object is named for the goddess.

(Hinduism) A name of the goddess Lakshmi.

A female given name from Sanskrit mainly used in India.

Alternative form of Rāma (“an incarnation of the god Vishnu in Hinduism”).


al-Qaeda

/ˌæl kɑːˈiːdə/

From Arabic الْقَاعِدَة (al-qāʕida), definite form of قَاعِدَة (qāʕida, “foundation, base”).

Al-Qaeda often kills non-Muslim and non-Sunni civilians.

A worldwide network of militant Sunni Islamic organizations and individuals.

اَلْقَاعِدَة

The global network of militant Islamic extremists.


oration

Borrowed from Latin ōrātiō, ōrātiōnem, from ōrō (“I orate”) + -ātiō (“action (nominalizer)”). Cognate with and doublet of orison.

(Catholicism) A specific form of short, solemn prayer said by the president of the liturgical celebration on behalf of the people.


oratory

From Middle English oratorie, from Anglo-Norman oratorie, Middle French oratoire, and their source, Late Latin ōrātōrium. Doublet of oratorio.

/ˈɒɹət(ə)ɹi/

By public oratories are meant those attached to monasteries, convents, seminaries, etc., having a public entrance by which the faithful have access to them.

1876, Michael Comerford, The Book of Holy Indulgences […] , page 29:

A Roman Catholic chapel; a building for public or private worship that is not a parish church.

They had been given the old Oscott College premises as a temporary home, but were content there until Oratories could be established in the cities. St Philip Neri had specifically intended that the Oratory should be a city-based form of communal and missionary life.

2006, Judith F. Champ, William Bernard Ullathorne, 1806–1889: A Different Kind of Monk, →ISBN, page 168:

(specifically) A Catholic church belonging to the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri.


oratory

Borrowed from Latin ōrātōria, from the feminine of ōrātōrius (“oratorial”).

/ˈɒɹət(ə)ɹi/

Rising from humble farmhand to community organizer to a leader of the national Fatah party, Mr. Barghouti became known for his soaring oratory and common touch.

2024, Taylor Luck and Fatima AbdulKarim, Palestinian Mandela? Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned preacher of unity., in: The Christian Science Monitor, April 1 2024

Eloquence; the quality of artistry and persuasiveness in speech or writing.


cope

From Middle English cope, from Medieval Latin cāpa (“cape”) Doublet of cap, cape, and chape.

[…] there went firſt 160 Prieſts, all in their Copes, eight Biſhops next, […]

1681, Gilbert Burnet, “Book II. The Life and Reign of Queen Mary.”, in The History of the Reformation of the Church of England. The Second Part, […], London: […] T[homas] H[odgkin] for Richard Chiswell, […], →OCLC, page 300:

He possessed a gorgeous cope of crimson silk and gold-thread damask, figured with a repeating pattern of golden pomegranates set in six-petalled formal blossoms, beyond which on either side was the pine-apple device wrought in seed-pearls.

1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XI, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:

(liturgy) A long, loose cloak worn by a priest, deacon, or bishop when presiding over a ceremony other than the Mass.


theurgy

theurgy (countable and uncountable, plural theurgies)

/ˈθiːˌɜː.d͡ʒi/

/ˈθiːˌɝ.d͡ʒi/

From Late Latin theūrgia, from Ancient Greek θεουργίᾱ (theourgíā, “sorcery”), from θεός (theós, “god”) + ἔργον (érgon, “work”). By surface analysis, the- + -urgy.

uder

A supernatural intervention in human affairs.


ember

From Middle English embryne (“running around, circuit”), from Old English ymbryne (“course; circuit”). Spelling changed through folk etymology. By surface analysis, umb- + run.

inh

ember fasts

ember days

ember weeks

(religion) Making a circuit of the year or the seasons; recurring in each quarter of the year, as certain religious days set apart for fasting and prayer.


overt

From Middle English overt, uverte (“open, uncovered; unfastened; accessible, unobstructed; clear, manifest”), from Anglo-Norman overt, Middle French ouvert, Old French overt, ouvert, uvert (“opened”) (modern French ouvert), past participle of Anglo-Norman, Old French ovrir, ouvrir, uvrir (“to open”), from Late Latin operire, variant of Latin aperīre (“to open”), from aperiō (“to open, uncover”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away; from”) + *h₂wer- (“to cover, shut”). The English word is a doublet of apert and ouvert.

der

Scientologists are sure that the person must have “overts” against Scientology, therefore nothing a former member says can be trusted.

1990, Jon Atack, A Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed, →ISBN, page 148:

Masturbation is an overt—strictly forbidden in Scientology, as Hubbard believed that it can slow one’s process to enlightenment.

2006 February 23, Janet Reitman, “Inside Scientology”, in Rolling Stone:

Anyone who leaves has committed “overts” (harmful acts) against the church and is withholding them. The church is obligated to make such people come clean, Hubbard said, because withholding overts against Scientology can lead to suicide or death by disease.

2019 October 17, Thomas C. Tobin, Joe Childs, “Part 1 — Scientology: The Truth Rundown”, in Tampa Bay Times:

(Scientology) An action or condition said to be detrimental to one’s own survival and thus unethical; the consciousness of such behaviour.


patron saint

When Aimé Humbert joined Josephine in Paris, he visited the Inspector of Police, and was so depressed by his meeting that she sent him to the Louvre ‘to look at the wonderful painting of St Marguerite, the patron saint of purity, trampling down the hideous dragon and looking so calm and peaceful’.

2014, Helen Mathers, Patron Saint of Prostitutes: Josephine Butler and a Victorian Scandal, History Press, →ISBN:

My patron saint, St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco—also known as “St. John the Wonderworker”—is particularly noteworthy in this regard […]

2016 July 8, Wesley J. Smith, “St. John the Wonderworker”, in First Things:

Entering the tunnel, we pass a small shrine above our heads which contains a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers. It is traditional to have such shrines on every tunnel site.

2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 41:

(Christianity) A saint conceived as the patron (protector or supporter) of a particular place, group, person, or activity, for whom or for which his or her intercession is specially invoked.

主保聖人

saint from whom a specific group claims special protection or prayer


oracle

From Middle English oracle, from Old French oracle m, from Latin ōrāculum n.

The oracles are dumb; / No voice or hideous hum / Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving.

1629, John Milton, “On the Morning of Christs Nativity”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:

A shrine dedicated to some prophetic deity.

A person such as a priest through whom the deity is supposed to respond with prophecy or advice.

оракул

priest through whom deity provides prophecy or advice

And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 6:19:

Siloa's brook, that flow'd / Fast by the oracle of God.

1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

(Jewish antiquity) The sanctuary, or most holy place in the temple; also, the temple itself.


Opus Dei

(Christianity) The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic organization composed of a prelate, secular clergy and lay people, whose mission is to spread the Catholic teaching that everyone is called to become a saint; its lay members, men and women, engage in the affairs of the world and seek to direct them "according to God's will".


convent

From Middle English convent, variant of covent, from Old French covent, from Latin conventus, perfect participle of the verb convenio (whence ultimately convene), see con- + venio. Doublet of coven.

A religious community whose members live under strict observation of religious rules and self-imposed vows.

One seldom finds in Italy a spot of ground more agreeable than ordinary that is not covered with a convent.

1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

The buildings and pertaining surroundings in which such a community lives.

(now especially) Synonym of nunnery, a female religious community and its residence.

nunnery

A gathering of people lasting several days for the purpose of discussing or working on topics previously selected.

...an usual ceremony at their [the witches'] convents or meetings...


taboo

en-noun

taboo (countable and uncountable, plural taboos)

Borrowed from Tongan tapu (“prohibited, sacred”), from Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *tambu. Doublet of kapu. First attested in c. 1777.
The p in the Tongan source was misheard as b.

bor+

(in Polynesia) Something which may not be used, approached or mentioned because it is sacred.

tabú

in Polynesia: something which may not be used


watcher

From Middle English wacchere, wachere, wacher, equivalent to watch + -er.

the Book of Watchers

(chiefly historical, Judaism, Christianity) A kind of angel appointed to watch over the human realm, in particular one of those who became fallen angels and begot the Nephilim.


supernumerary

From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.

refn

From Joseph C. Hughes (1897 September) “Supernumerary Finger Growing from First Metacarpal Bone”, in James Moores Ball, editor, Tri-State Medical Journal and Practitioner, volume IV, number 9, St. Louis, Mo.: [s.n.] 3509 Franklin Avenue, →OCLC, figure 2, page 436.

bor

“Supernumeraries”, the bulk of Opus Dei members, can marry and live in their own homes, with slightly fewer spiritual obligations.

2024 March 16, Antonia Cundy, “The Opus Dei diaries”, in FT Weekend, page 17:

(Roman Catholicism) A married man or woman who is a secular member of Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic religious institution.


dragoon

en-verb

dragoon (third-person singular simple present dragoons, present participle dragooning, simple past and past participle dragooned)

dragoons (present singular third-person)
dragooning (participle present)
dragooned (participle past)
dragooned (past)

Battle of Cerro Gordo
Battle of Jena–Auerstedt
Mexican–American War
Smithsonian Institution
Édouard Detaille

The noun is borrowed from French dragon (“dragon (mythological creature); type of cavalry soldier, dragoon”) (originally referring to a soldier armed with the firearm of the same name (sense 1.1)), ultimately from Latin dracō (“dragon; kind of serpent or snake”), from Ancient Greek δρᾰ́κων (drákōn, “dragon; serpent”), possibly from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “to see, see clearly (in the sense of something staring)”), from Proto-Indo-European *derḱ- (“to see”)). Doublet of Draco, dracone, and dragon.
The verb is either derived:
* from the noun; or
* from French dragonner (“to force (someone) into doing something, coerce; to torment (oneself)”), from dragon (noun) (see above) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).

ref

From the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., United States.

From the collection of the Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum) in Paris, France.

der

She [Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné] appears to have exulted in the extirpation of protestantism in Provence, by the power of her son-in-law, count de Gregnan [i.e., François Adhémar de Monteil, Comte de Grignan]; she even speaks with levity of the sufferings of the huguenots, dragooned into the bosom of the true church.

1803, Mary Hays, “The Marchioness de Sevigne”, in Female Biography; or, Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women, of All Ages and Countries. […], volume VI, London: […] Richard Phillips, […] by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, page 401:

This was the pious lady [Ninon de l’Enclos] who, in after times, expiated the faults of her youth by dragooning Huguenots into Catholics.

1845 June, “Art. V.—Lives of Men of Letters and Science who Flourished in the Time of George III. By Henry Lord Brougham. Knight and Co. [book review]”, in The Westminster Review, American edition, volume XLIII, number LXXXV, New York, N.Y.: Leonard Scott & Co., […], →OCLC, footnote *, page 191, column 1:

(Christianity, French politics, historical) To subject (a Huguenot) to the dragonnades (“a policy instituted by Louis XIV of France in 1681 to intimidate Protestant Huguenots to convert to Roman Catholicism by billeting dragoons (noun sense 1.2) in their homes to abuse them and destroy or steal their possessions”).

antaa dragonnadeille

to subject (a Huguenot) to the dragonnades


comprehension

en-noun

comprehension (countable and uncountable, plural comprehensions)

/ˌkɒmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/

/ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/

Borrowed from Middle French compréhension, from Latin comprehensiō (“taking together”), from com- (“with, together”) + prehendō (“take”).

af

(Christianity) The inclusion of nonconformists within the Church of England.


presidential

en-adj

presidential (comparative more presidential, superlative most presidential)

more presidential (comparative)
most presidential (superlative)

These prayers are addressed to God in the name of the entire holy people and all present, by the priest who presides over the assembly in the person of Christ. It is with good reason, therefore, that they are called the "presidential prayers."

2002, General Instruction of the Roman Missal, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc., §30

(Roman Catholicism) (of prayers) addressed to God on behalf of the congregation by the presiding priest


immanent

immanent (comparative more immanent, superlative most immanent)

more immanent (comparative)
most immanent (superlative)

Entered English around 1530, via French, from Late Latin immanēns, present participle of Latin immanēre, from im- (“in”) + manēre (“to dwell, remain, stay”). Cognate with remain and manor.

(philosophy, metaphysics, theology, of a deity) Existing within and throughout the mind and the world; dwelling within and throughout all things, all time, etc. Compare transcendent.


Gurjit

A male given name from Sanskrit used by Sikhs.


gurdwara

From Punjabi ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ (gurduārā), ਗੁਰਦਵਾਰਾ (gurdavārā).


Easter

en-noun

Easter (countable and uncountable, plural Easters)

→ Chickasaw: Iista'

The noun is derived from Middle English Ester, from Old English ēastre, seemingly from Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose festival is thought to have been celebrated around the vernal equinox. Further from Proto-West Germanic *Austrā, from Proto-Germanic *Austrǭ, derived from either Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“dawn; east”) or, more semantically plausible, from *austrą, *auzrą, a metathesized form of *wazrą (“spring (season)”), *-ǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥ (“spring”).
The English word is cognate with German Low German Oostern (“Easter”), Old High German ōstarūn (modern German Ostern) and is possibly a doublet of east. Despite a modern folk etymology, not related to Ishtar.
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

We spent each of the past five Easters together as a family.

During the Easter season, the Russians are planning “a great battle in Donbas,” the Russian-occupied region in Ukraine’s far east. “This is not Christian behavior at all, as I understand it. On Easter they will kill, and they will be killed.”

2022 April 15, Anne Applebaum, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Volodymyr Zelensky, “LIBERATION WITHOUT VICTORY”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 2022-04-15:

Western Christianity
Western Christianity

Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity

Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging in most of Western Christianity (such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) from March 22 to April 25, and in Eastern Christianity (such as the Coptic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) from April 4 to May 8.

Paasfees

Jesus Daaztsą́ą́dę́ę́ʼ Náádiidzáhígíí Bééhániih

Eastertide (“the period from Easter to Whitsun”).

(specifically, Roman Catholicism, dated, now chiefly figuratively) Usually preceded by an inflection of make: the act of receiving the Eucharist during Easter.

pääsiäisehtoollinen

(paganism) A festival held in honour of the goddess Eostre or Ostara, celebrated at the vernal equinox or within the month of April; Eostre, Ostara.


bonze

From French bonze, from Portuguese bonzo, from Japanese 凡僧 (bonzō), from Middle Chinese 凡 (bɨɐm, “ordinary”) + 僧 (səŋ, “Buddhist monk”).


Samuel

From Latin Samūēl, from Ancient Greek Σαμουήλ (Samouḗl), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (šəmûʾēl, literally “name of God”) https://www.etymonline.com/word/samuel. It is also taken to mean "heard by God" or "asked of God."
According to 1 Samuel 1:20, the Biblical judge and prophet was given this name due to its similarity to a Hebrew word that means "heard by God."

der

It was quite unnecessary to call Samuel Weller; for Samuel Weller stepped briskly into the box the instant his name was pronounced; and placing his hat on the floor, and his arms on the rail, took a bird’s–eye view of the Bar, and a comprehensive survey of the Bench, with a remarkably cheerful and lively aspect. ‘What’s your name, sir?’ inquired the judge. / ‘Sam Weller, my Lord,’ replied that gentleman. / ‘Do you spell it with a “V” or a “W”?’ inquired the judge. / ‘That depends upon the taste and fancy of the speller, my Lord,’ replied Sam; ‘I never had occasion to spell it more than once or twice in my life, but I spells it with a “V.” ’ / Here a voice in the gallery exclaimed aloud, ‘Quite right too, Samivel, quite right. Put it down a “we,” my Lord, put it down a “we.”’

1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “Chapter 34”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:

I went down the dark road between the hawthorn hedges puzzling over the why of like, repeating SAMUEL to myself and aloud and listening to the rolling wonder in its sound that had charmed her soul and led her life in tragic places. SAMUEL! There was a rolling wonder in the sound. Aye, there was!

1914, Jack London, The Strength of the Strong/Samuel:

Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 1:20:

(biblical) The primary author and central character of the first book of Samuel.


Hindu

Derived from Classical Persian هِنْدُو (hindū, “Indian, Hindu”), from Middle Persian hndwk' (Hindūg, “Indian”), from hnd (Hind, “India”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢 (hiⁿdu-, “India”), from Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu, “river, stream; Indus”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *síndʰuṣ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš (“river”).

der

Of, or relating to Hinduism, or to Hindus and their culture.

هِنْدُوسِيّ

of or relating to Hindus and their culture


Hindu

A person adhering to the Hindu religion (Hinduism).

(dated) Any native inhabitant of Hindustan.


sheik

He then studied under a variety of scholars (shuyook) and institutes around the world in his quest for authentic knowledge.

2013 January 8, Islamic Online University Insights, archived from the original on 2021-10-25, page 10:

An Islamic religious cleric; the leader of an Islamic religious order.


Great Rite

In Wicca, ritualistic sexual intercourse symbolizing creation. The Great Rite can also be performed symbolically: the high priest plunges the athame, or ritual knife (the male symbol), into a cup or chalice (the female symbol) that is filled with wine and is held by the high priestess.


pointing

en-noun

pointing (countable and uncountable, plural pointings)

Verfugen

filling of gaps in brickwork or masonry with mortar

Psalm pointings sometimes differ between psalters.

(countable, music, Anglicanism) In Anglican chant, the placement of marks in the text to indicate the syllables on which the chant should progress to the next note.


exclusivism

exclusivism (countable and uncountable, plural exclusivisms)

(religion) The doctrine that one religion is the only true religion, or that one religious sect is the only true version of a larger religion.


lunette

Unadapted borrowing from French lunette, diminutive of lune (“moon”).

On those occasions when lunettes, custodia and monstrances are used, the sacristan needs to be sure that the lunette fits into the given monstrance, that the host fits into the lunette, and that the host is put out before Mass for consecration.

2001, David Philippart, Basket, Basin, Plate, and Cup: Vessels in the Liturgy, page 33:

(Christianity) A luna: a crescent-shaped receptacle, often glass, for holding the (consecrated) host (the bread of communion) upright when exposed in the monstrance.

Lunula

Christianity: crescent-shaped clip for holding the host upright


Thetis

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

(Greek mythology) One of the Nereids; the mother of Achilles


Terpsichore

From Ancient Greek Τερψιχόρη (Terpsikhórē, from τέρψις (térpsis, “enjoyment, delight”) + χορός (khorós, “chorus”)).

uder

(Greek mythology) The goddess of dance and the dramatic chorus, and one of the Muses; the daughters of Zeus & Mnemosyne.


sempiternity

From sempitern(al) + -ity, from Latin sempiternitas.

(philosophy, theology) Existence within time but infinitely into the future, as opposed to eternity, understood as existence outside time.


concupiscence

en-noun

concupiscence (countable and uncountable, plural concupiscences)

From Latin concupiscentia, from concupīscō (“I desire strongly, I desire eagerly; I covet”).

[“]Since concupiscence is the most common form of temptation, it is better for him to know something about it. The soul cannot be humbled by fasts and prayer; it must be broken by mortal sin to experience forgiveness of sin and rise to a state of grace. Otherwise, religion is nothing but dead logic.”

1927, Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Book V, section 1, page 147:

(Roman Catholicism) the desire of a person's lower appetite, contrary to reason, which subjugates and inclines them to experience temptation and to give in to sin, due to the Fall and original sin.


witch doctor

[T]he ſaid Dorothy Durent, having been with a Witch-Doctor, acknowledges upon Oath, that by his Advice, ſhe hang'd up her Child's Blanket in the Chimney, found a Toad in it at Night, had put it into the Fire, and held it there tho' it made a great and horrible Noiſe, and flaſht like Gunpowder, and went off like a Piſtol, and then became inviſible, and that by this the Priſoner was ſcorch'd and burn'd lamentably.

1718, Francis Hutchinson, “The Tryal before My Lord Chief Baron Hale”, in An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft. […], London: Printed for R. Knaplock, […], and D. Midwinter, […], →OCLC, page 110:

Some people are so foolish as to go to a witch-doctor when they have Cows in this complaint [prematurely parting with their unborn calves]:—they give him some money, and he tells them some frivolous tale, such as that some person that wishes them bad luck, or looks upon them with an evil eye, [...]

1820, J[ohn] C. Knowlson, “The Felon”, in The Complete Cow-leech, or Cattle-Doctor; […], Otley, Yorkshire: Printed for the author by T. F. Bristow, […], →OCLC, page 104:

At that consultation, according to the habit of a witch-doctor, he divined and announced the occasion of their attendance, and indicated the complainant, Mdungazwe, as the wizard who had caused Ranise to suffer.

1893, South African Law Journal, volume 10, Cape Town: Juta & Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 219:

I told the witch doctor I was in love with you / And then the witch doctor he told me what to do

1958 April 1, David Seville [pseudonym; Ross Bagdasarian Sr.] (lyrics and music), “Witch Doctor”, in The Alvin Show:

Review of the literature cited in the bibliography of the present paper left this author with the impression that there is indeed a very widespread institution variously labelled by Western observers with epithets such as medicine-man, shaman, witch-doctor, native healer, or with indigenous terms such as angakok (Eskimo), or mganga (Swahili).

1971, W. G. Jilek, “From Crazy Witch Doctor to Auxiliary Psychotherapist: The Changing Image of the Medicine Man”, in Psychiatria Clinica, volume 4, number 4, Basel, New York, N.Y.: S[amuel] Karger, →OCLC, abstract, page 200:

In much of popular Western literature, the non-Western professional who attends to the relief of distress and alleviation of anxiety in his society is known by many names, none of them exactly respectful. He is a medicine man or a witch doctor, native healer or voodoo sorcerer—the "quack," so to speak, never the "doctor."

1982, Sudhir Kakar, “Other Shamans”, in Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions, New York, N.Y.: Knopf, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Knopf, 2013, →ISBN:

The man being led into the Cage did not strike me as a witchdoctor. Slim and tall, he was a middle-aged man with a fuzzy Afro which made him look even younger.

1993, Hama Tuma, The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories (African Writers Series), Oxford, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, →ISBN, page 36:

A person (often male) who is believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magical powers; a shaman.

طَبِيب سَاحِر

person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic


Poseidon

(Greek mythology) The god of the sea and other waters, earthquakes and horses; corresponds to the Roman god Neptune.


memorial

From Late Latin memoriale, neuter of memorialis.

(chiefly Christianity) A service of remembrance or commemoration.


Elysian Fields

Calque of Latin Campī Ēlysiī, from Ancient Greek Ἠλῠ́σῐον Πεδῐ́ον (Ēlúsion Pedíon). By surface analysis, Elysian + fields.

der

Ἠλῠ́σῐον Πεδῐ́ον

Indeed, the Elysian Fields themselves were a part of Hades, though they have since been removed to Paris.

1911, Ambrose Bierce, “Hades”, in The Devil’s Dictionary, New York, N.Y., Washington, D.C.: The Neale Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 127:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Elysium; home of the blessed, after death.

Ելիսեյան մարգագետիններ

home of the blessed after death in Greek and Roman mythology — see also Elysium


witchcraft

en-noun

witchcraft (usually uncountable, plural witchcrafts)

/ˈwɪt͡ʃkɹɑːft/

From Middle English wicchecraft, wicchecreft, from Old English wiċċecræft, equivalent to witch + -craft.

Wiccans believe in a modernised form of witchcraft.

Such witchcraft has no power now to show itself, because the people don't believe in it any more.

1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “A Day with the Capercailzies”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 84:

The practice of witches; magic, sorcery, or the use of supernatural powers to influence or predict events.


shire

→ Icelandic: skíri

The noun is derived from Middle English shire (“district, province, region; county; people living in a county or region; township or subdivision of some English counties; shire court; session of a shire court”) [and other forms], from Old English sċīr (“administrative region under an alderman and sheriff, shire; district under a governor or official; status of an official, office”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *skīru (“district; status of an official, office”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Latin cūra (“care, concern; administration, charge, management; command, office”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed; to see”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

chyer, schere, schire, schyr, schyre, scīr, sheere, sher, shir, shyr, shyre, sir, ssire

inh

A third Seignorie or Shire there is that goeth to Apamia, vvhich in old time vvas called Celænæ, and aftervvards Ciboron: […]

1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book V.] Laodicea, Apamia, Ionia, Ephesus.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 107:

A district or province governed by a person; specifically (Christianity), the province of an archbishop, the see of a bishop, etc.


venial

en-adj

venial (comparative more venial, superlative most venial)

more venial (comparative)
most venial (superlative)

From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”).

(religion, of a sin) Not causing spiritual death.


imputation

en-noun

imputation (countable and uncountable, plural imputations)

From Middle French imputation, from Latin imputatio.

the imputation of the sin of Adam

the imputation of the righteousness of Christ

So, if a Sonne that is by his Father ſent about Merchandize, doe ſinfully miſcarry vpon the Sea; the imputation of his vvickedneſſe, by your rule, ſhould be impoſed vpon his Father that ſent him: […]

1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 84, column 2:

(theology) A setting of something to the account of; the attribution of personal guilt or personal righteousness of another.


Holy Writ

Holy Writ (usually uncountable, plural Holy Writs)

From Middle English Holi Writ, hali writ, from Old English hāliġ ġewrit (“scripture”, literally “holy writing”), equivalent to holy + writ (“scripture, writing”).


syncretism

en-noun

syncretism (countable and uncountable, plural syncretisms)

/ˈsɪŋkɹəˌtɪzm/

From Latin syncretismus, from Ancient Greek συγκρητισμός (sunkrētismós, “federation of Cretan cities”), from συγκρητίζω (sunkrētízō, “to unite against a common enemy”), from σύν (sún, “together”) (see English syn-) + Κρῆτες (Krêtes, “Cretans”). By surface analysis, syn- + Crete + -ism (“Crete joining together”).

der

συγκρητισμός

surf

Having thus established his trinity of hypotheses, M. Lamennais deduces therefrom, by a badly connected chain of analogies, his whole philosophy. And it is here especially that we notice the syncretism which is peculiar to him. The theory of M. Lamennais embraces all systems, and supports all opinions.

1876 [1840], “Second Memoir”, in Benjamin R. Tucker, transl., What is Property?, translation of Qu'est-ce que la propriété ? by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon:

It provides a more natural explanation of the Colossian syncretism as stemming from local religious impulses that continued to wield a powerful draw on people converted to Christianity from the local Jewish communities and pagan cults.[…]The kind of syncretism we find at Colossae was not unique to that city or region.

1995, Clinton E. Arnold, The Colossian Syncretism: The Interface Between Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae, J.C.B. Mohr (Paul SieBeck), page 238:

Kraft's functional view of Anthropology eventually leads to syncretism because God is understood as working within a modern, humanistic paradigm.

2006, Gailyn Van Rheenen, “1: Syncretism and Contextualization: The Church on a Journey Defining Itself”, in Gailyn Van Rheenen, editor, Contextualization and Syncretism: Navigating Cultural Currents, Evangelical Missiological Society, page 7:

The strategies of religious syncretism—the active transformation through renegotiation, reorganization, and redefinition of clashing belief systems—are consistent with the creolization process.

2010, Marguerite Fernández Olmos, Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert, “Creole Religions of the Caribbean”, in Claudio Iván Remeseira, editor, Hispanic New York: A Sourcebook, Columbia University Press, page 222:

(chiefly religion) The reconciliation or fusion of different systems or beliefs (religious, cultural, or otherwise cosmologic or ontologic).


consistent

Borrowed from Latin cōnsistēntem, present participle of cōnsistō (“to agree with; to continue”), from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by, near, with”)) + sistō (“to cause to stand; to place, set”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti (“to be standing up; to be getting up”), from the root *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”)).

der

[F]rom the fourth century onwards, the Eastern Church divided penitents into four classes. […] The consistentes (the last class—συστάντες, consistentes) "stand together with the faithful, and do not go out with the catechumens. Last comes participation in the sacraments (ἁγιασμάτων)."

[1884, William E[dward] Addis, Thomas Arnold, “PENITENTIAL DISCIPLINE AND BOOKS”, in A Catholic Dictionary: Containing Some Account of the Doctrine, Discipline, Rites, Ceremonies, Councils, and Religious Orders of the Catholic Church, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 651:

(Eastern Orthodoxy, historical) A kind of penitent who was allowed to assist at prayers, but was not permitted to receive the holy sacraments.


verger

-ɜː(ɹ)dʒə(ɹ)

"We have often seen each other," said Little Dorrit, recognising the sexton, or the beadle, or the verger, or whatever he was, "when I have been at church here."

1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Litle Dorrit’s Party”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, book the first (Poverty), page 128:

As soon as we were all in the night the verger rolled shut the doors and blotted out the chandeliers.

1942, Emily Carr, “The Blessing”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Christianity) A lay person who takes care of the interior of a church and acts as an attendant during services, where he or she carries the verge (or virge). In the United States, the office is generally combined with that of sexton.

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, Christianity) An usher; also, in major ecclesiastical landmarks, a tour guide.


vestment

From Middle English vestement, vestment, from Old French vestement, from Latin vestīmentum. By surface analysis, vest + -ment. Compare French vêtement.

(archaic) An article of clothing, especially an outer garment.


vicarage

en-noun

vicarage (countable and uncountable, plural vicarages)

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

The benefice, duties or office of a vicar.


tutelary

From Latin tūtēlārius (“guardian”), from tūtēla (“tutelage, guardianship; dependent, client”) + -ārius (suffix denoting an agent of use); analysable as tutelar + -ary.

University of Cambridge
University of Oxford
William of Nottingham II

The qualifications demanded in a tutelary are activity combined with power over the minor malignant devils. Thus most of the superior celestial Buddhas and Bodhisats may be, and are, tutelaries. But the favourite ones are the great demon-kings, […]

1895, L[aurence] Austine Waddell, “Pantheon and Images”, in The Buddhism of Tibet: or Lamaism, with its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology, and in its Relation to Indian Buddhism, London: W. H. Allen & Co., →OCLC, page 361:

Thus, various Amerind tribes are devoted to foot-racing; yet the races are not tests of swiftness so much as divinatory or invocatory acts designed to appeal to tutelaries, and are usually set by seasons for planting or harvesting or hunting.

1906, Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, Frank Moore Colby, editors, The New International Encyclopedia, volume XII, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, →OCLC, page 766:

A tutelary is not a special sort of spirit or shrine; the word refers either to a clan shrine, which is theoretically the same for all members, or to the specific shrine or ancestor indicated by a diviner as being a man's own guardian spirit. Each individual has such a tutelary, but will not be aware of its name unless a diviner has been consulted.

1962, Jack Goody, Death, Property and the Ancestors: A Study of the Mortuary Customs of the LoDagaa of West Africa, London: Tavistock Publications, OCLC 8211112; republished as Death, Property and the Ancestors: A Study of the Mortuary Customs of the Lodagaa of West Africa, London: Routledge, 2004, ISBN 978-0-415-32984-2, page 210

To abate cold weather, the aid of tutelaries such as West Wind, Rain, and Thunder was invoked. Appropriate tutelaries might, upon appeal, bring snow upon enemies. During the Modoc War, a shaman acted to bring down the shielding fog against the army's advance.

1998, David H[eath] French, Kathrine S[tory] French, “Wasco, Wishram, and Cascades”, in Deward E. Walker, Jr., editor, Plateau (Handbook of North American Indians; 12), Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, →ISBN, page 460:

(religion, chiefly paganism) A deity or spirit serving as a guardian or protector of a place, person, culture, etc.; a tutelar, a tutelary deity.


vespers

From Middle English vespers, from Old French vespres (French vêpres), from Ecclesiastical Latin vesperae (“vespers”), substantivisation of relational Late Latin vesperus (“evening”), from vesper (“evening”) + -us.
Euphemistic use first as Vèpres éphésiennes (“Ephesian Vespers”), coined in 1890 by historian Théodore Reinach by analogy with the Sicilian Vespers.

der

(Christianity, plural only) The sixth of the seven canonical hours, an evening prayer service


Psalms

en-proper noun

the Psalms pl (normally plural, singular Psalm)

the Psalms (canonical plural)
Psalm (singular)

(biblical) A book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and of the Tanakh.


Arminianist

(Christianity) A member of the Protestant denomination founded by Jacobus Arminius.

(Christianity) One who subscribes to the beliefs of the Arminian Church.


sinner

From Middle English synnere, equivalent to sin + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Säänder (“sinner”), West Frisian sûnder (“sinner”), Dutch zondaar (“sinner”), German Low German Sünder, Sünner (“sinner”), German Sünder (“sinner”), Danish synder (“sinner”), Swedish syndare (“sinner”), Icelandic syndari (“sinner”).

whiro

(figuratively, by extension) A person with negative qualities

fasiq

one who has sinned by violating Islamic law

(Christianity, doctrinal) An unregenerate person.

A person who sins or has sinned.
An unregenerate person.


tablet

→ Scottish Gaelic: tablaid

From Middle English tablet, from Old French tablete (Modern French tablette), diminutive of table (“table”).

(religion) A short scripture written by the founders of the Baháʼí Faith.


petition

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French peticiun, from stem of Latin petitio, petitionem (“a request, solicitation”), from petere (“to require, seek, go forward”).

der

A house of prayer and petition for thy people.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Maccabees 7:37:


zij

From Middle Persian zīg (literally “cord”).

Zijes are comprised of a set of canons and a set of tables. These tables can be grouped as follows: calendar conversions; mean motions; solar, lunar, and planetary equations; trigonometry and spherical astronomy; planetary latitudes, visibilities, and retrogradations; lunar visibility; precession or trepidation; solar and lunar eclipses; astrological tables; geographical coordinates; and star lists. Some zijes may not have had all these items, and others may have had [more]. In particular, planetary velocity tables appear in only [those] that derive from the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghrib.

2003, José Chabás, Bernard R. Goldstein, “Astronomical Commentary”, in The Alfonsine Tables of Toledo:

(Islam) An Islamic book that tabulates parameters used for various astronomical events and movements.


maudlin

From Middle English Maudelen, a dialectal form of Mary Magdalene (typically depicted weeping), from Old French Madelaine (whence Madeleine), from Late Latin Magdalena (see Magdalena, Magdalene, and Maudlin).

for alle they worſchipden hir ſouereynly / as worthy was / but ſpecially Mawdelayne / that wolde neuere departe fro hir.

c. 1400, Nicholas Love, transl., The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ:

(obsolete, Christianity) The Magdalene; Mary Magdalene.


gradual

/ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəl/

From Medieval Latin graduālis, from Latin gradus (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”).

(Christianity) An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps.

(Christianity) A service book containing the musical portions of the Mass.


Avestan

An ancient Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta.


fane

From Middle English fane, from Old English fana (“cloth, banner”), from Proto-West Germanic *fanō, from Proto-Germanic *fanô (“cloth, flag”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“to weave; something woven; cloth, fabric, tissue”). Doublet of fanon and vane.

The ſteeple had become old and ruinous; and therefore the preſent one was built about the year 1740. It had, at that time, four fanes mounted on ſpires, on the four corners; theſe being judged too weak for the fanes, were taken down in 1764, and the roof of the ſteeple altered.

1801, John Baillie, An Impartial History of the Town and County of Newcastle Upon Tyne, page 541:

(obsolete) A weathercock, a weather vane.


beatitude

en-noun

beatitude (countable and uncountable, plural beatitudes)

From Middle English beatitude, beatytude, from Middle French béatitude, from Latin beātitūdō (“happiness, blessedness”), from beātus (“happy, blessed”).

der

Any of the Biblical blessings given by Jesus in Matthew 5:3–12. E.g.: "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).


Vatican

→ Japanese: バチカン (Bachikan)

Learned borrowing from Latin Vātī̆cānus (“Vatican Hill”), further etymology unknown. The connection to vāticinārī (“to prophesy, oracle”) is folk-etymological.

lbor

The official residence of the Pope within Vatican City, the Vatican or Apostolic Palace.

(metonymically) The papal government; the papacy, the Holy See.

Vatican City State
Vatican City State#English

A city-state in Southern Europe, an enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. Official name: Vatican City State.

He [Caligula] began to build a circus upon the Vatican.

1856, The Art of Building in Ancient and Modern Times […], volume 1, page 75:

The Vatican Hill in Rome, where the palace and Vatican City are located.


Amish

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

From Pennsylvania German Amisch or German Amische, after the name of the Swiss preacher Jakob Amman (1645-1730). The surname is a contraction of Old High German ambahtman.

A strict Anabaptist sect living mainly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.


limbo

en-noun

limbo (countable and uncountable, plural limbos or limboes)

The noun is derived from Middle English limbo, lymbo (“place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven”), from Latin limbō, the ablative singular of limbus (“border, edge; hem; fringe, tassel”) (notably in expressions like in limbō (“in limbo”) and e limbō (“out of limbo”)); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lemb- (“to hang limply or loosely”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”). Doublet of limp.
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

Of vvhat texte thou proveſt hell / vvill a nother prove purgatory / a nother lymbo patrum / and a nother the aſſumpcion of oure ladi: And a nother ſhall prove of the ſame texte that an Ape hath a tayle.

1528 October 12 (Gregorian calendar), William Tyndale, “William Tyndale other wise Called William Hychins vnto the Reader”, in The Obediẽce of a Christen Man […], [Antwerp]: [Johannes Hoochstraten], →OCLC, folio xix, recto:

Oh vvhat a ſimpathie of vvoe is this, / As farre from helpe, as Lymbo is from bliſſe.

c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas Millington, […], published 1594, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

VVith all our heart, fare-vvell, fare-vvell, / I am freed from Lymbo, to be ſent to hell.

1605, [Thomas Heywood], If You Know Not Me, You Know No Bodie: Or, The Troubles of Queene Elizabeth, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot] for Nathaniel Butter, published 1606, →OCLC, signature D2, recto:

And they who have multiplied hells unto us, and made more hells than God hath made, more by their two limboes, (one for fathers, another for children) and one purgatory, have yet made their new hells more of the nature of heaven than of hell.

1626 November 15 (Gregorian calendar), John Donne, “The Third of My Prebend Sermons upon My Five Psalms. Sermon LXVII. Preached at St. Paul’s, November 5, 1626.”, in Henry Alford, editor, The Works of John Donne, D.D., […], volume III, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 183:

Limbo, or more exactly the notion of two different limbos within Christendom, was also an invention. Many medieval Christians had difficulty accepting the idea of eternal punishment meted out to two categories of persons who, on strictly technical grounds, were "outside" the Church and otherwise quite beyond the pale. The first category embraced wise and just people who died before the coming of Christ, and the second included all infants born within Christendom but, unfortunately, unbaptized at the time of their death.

1992, William R. LaFleur, “Jizō at the Crosswords”, in Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, part 1 (Original Concepts), page 57:

(Roman Catholicism, uncountable) A speculation, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum or limbo of the infants); (countable) the possible place where each category of souls might exist, regarded separately.

քավարան

place where the souls of innocent deceased people exist temporarily until they can enter heaven


provision

en-noun

provision (countable and uncountable, plural provisions)

/pɹəˈvɪʒ.ən/

From Middle English provisioun, from Old French provisïon, from Latin prōvīsiō (“preparation, foresight”), from prōvidēre (“provide”).

der

(Roman Catholicism) Regular induction into a benefice, comprehending nomination, collation, and installation.


Christadelphian

Coined by English religious leader and founder of the Christadelphian movement John Thomas, from Ancient Greek Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”) + ἀδελφός (adelphós, “brother”).


unconfirmed

In the ecumenical world a cry is heard for the admission of unconfirmed children to communion...

2001, Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, The encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 2:

(Christianity) Not having undergone the ritual of confirmation.


Lady Bountiful

en-noun

Lady Bountiful (plural Lady Bountifuls or Ladies Bountiful)

Lady Bountifuls (plural)
Ladies Bountiful (plural)

* From a character in the 18th century play The Beaux' Stratagem by George Farquhar


saved

The second servant, however, was not only not "saved." She could not even be classified as "questing." She was an Anglican who was in the household from charity, having been deserted by her navvy husband and been denied Poor Relief by two parishes, each of whom claimed she was the other's responsibility.

(Christianity) Rescued from the consequences of sin.


Xianity

From Christianity, replacing Christ with the abbreviation X, from Ancient Greek Χ (Kh, the letter chi), the first letter of Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”). Compare the more common Xmas.

Not but that I perswade myselfe to bee able to convince you (if you list to undergoe yoʳ triall) how interolerable an injury it is you doe yʳselfe, in yᵉ first place, yʳ ignorant followers, yᵉ King's authority, yᵉ credit of the towne, and yᵉ progress of Xianity in general, in these parts, by yʳ schisme and separation.

1861, Sussex Archaeological Society, quoting Vicar of Rye, Sussex Archaeological Collections relating to the History and Antiquities of the County, volume 13, Sussex: George P. Bacon, page 62:

I believe Buddhism to be a simplification of Hinduism and Islam to be a simplification of Xianity.

1950 December 14, Lewis, C. S., letter to Sheldon Vanauken, quoted in Sleuthing C. S. Lewis by Kathryn Ann Lindskoog


goodness

goodness (countable and uncountable, plural goodnesses)

From Middle English goodnesse, godnesse, from Old English gōdnes (“goodness; virtue; kindness”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōdnassī (“goodness”), equivalent to good + -ness. Cognate with Scots guidness (“goodness”), West Frisian goedens (“goodness”), Old High German guotnessī (“goodness”), Middle High German guotnisse (“goodness”), Russian годность (godnostʹ, “suitability, fitness”).

cog

But the fruit of the ſpirit is loue, ioy, peace, long ſuffering, gentleneſſe, goodneſſe, faith, / Meekeneſſe, temperance: againſt ſuch there is no law.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Galatians 5:22–23, column 2:

(Christianity) The moral qualities which constitute Christian excellence; moral virtue.


pietism

en-noun

pietism (countable and uncountable, plural pietisms)

From its earliest days, Pietism was intimately bound up with education.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 739:

(Christianity, often capitalized) A movement in the Lutheran church in the late 17th and 18th centuries, calling for practical and devout Christianity.


firmament

firmament (countable and uncountable, plural firmaments)

From Middle English firmament, furmament (“heaven; sky”), from Old French firmament (“firmament”), or from its etymon Latin firmāmentum (“support; sky”), from
firmāre (“to strengthen”) + -mentum (suffix indicating an instrument or medium, or the result of an action). Firmāre is the present active infinitive of firmō (“to make firm, strengthen”), from firmus (“firm, strong, stable”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“to hold; to support”).
The Latin word was used in the Vulgate version of the Bible to translate the
Ancient Greek στερέωμα (steréōma, “foundation, framework; firmament”) in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), which in turn was used to translate the Hebrew רָקִיעַ (rāqī́aʿ, “celestial dome, vault of heaven”), from the root ר־ק־ע (r-q-`); in Classical Syriac the similar root ܪ-ܩ-ܥ (r-q-ʿ) (related to compacting) gave rise to ܪܩܝܥܐ (rəqīʿā, “compact; firm; firmament, heavens, sky; celestial sphere”).

ref

From Petrus Apianus, Gemma Frisius (1539) Petri Apiani cosmographia, per Gemmam Phrysium, apud Louanienses medicum ac mathematicum insignem, restituta: additis de adem re ipsius Gemmae Phry. libellis, ut sequens pagina docet, Antwerp: In pingui gallina Arnoldo Berckma[n]no [Arnold Birckmann], →OCLC.

ሰማይ

vault of the heavens — see also heavens, sky

ala

field or sphere of an activity or interest — see also field, sphere

Praiſe ye the Lord. Praiſe God in his Sanctuarie: Praiſe him in the firmament of his power.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalm 150:1, column 1:

(uncountable, obsolete except biblical) The abode of God and the angels; heaven.


Xian

Frederick A. Praeger
Xian
Yale University Press

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Chinese 西安 (Xī'ān, “Western Peace”), without syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)).

zh-l

隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)

"Archeologists drew almost a complete blank in their search of the inner tomb," the official New China News Agency said Saturday in a report of excavations at the tomb site, thought to be between 2,200 and 2,800 years old. The site is in Fengxiang County of Shaanxi Province, about 90 miles west of the ancient Yellow River capital of Xian.

1986 June 16, “CHINESE TOMB FOUND TO BE VICTIM OF GRAVE ROBBERS”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-05-24, B, page 10:

Next came several more days of sightseeing that included a few opportunities to observe the changes going on in China, as well as a fascinating look into its past. We flew to Xian, the ancient capital of China, then drove almost ninety minutes to the tomb of China's first emperor and the site where archaeologists had unearthed hundreds of life-size terra-cotta figures of soldiers standing in ranks, complete with horses and chariots, to guard the tomb. "They know there are more than 7,000 [terra-cotta soldiers] that haven't been uncovered yet," I wrote that evening in my diary: "It is an unforgettable experience. This—plus the drive past villages surrounded by endless wheat fields dotted here and there with burial mounds and relics of China's ancient past—made for a day we'll long remember."

1990, Ronald Reagan, An American Life, Pocket Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 371:

A fervent believer in an afterlife, Qin Shihuang ordered his tomb to be guarded by 8,000 terra-cotta statues. This grandiose resting place was accidentally disinterred in 1976 by farmers digging a well in the ancient capital, Xian, during a drought.
Dr. Huang broached the idea of a terra-cotta exhibit on a trip to Shanxi Province, where Xian is located, three years ago.

2000 December 6, Mark Landler, “Could Terra-Cotta Warriors Be a Trojan Horse?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-19, World, page 2:

3. One reason for the growth and success of ninth-century cities like Baghdad, Constantinople and Ch'ang-an (Xian) was that they . . .
a. were part of the Roman Empire
b. tolerated religious diversity
c. traded only with people from their immediate region
d. were located on major trade routes

2003 April 13, New York Board of Regents, quotee, “Pop Quiz; Third Rock From the Sun”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2009-04-14, EDUCATION:

According to the 2000 Census for Shaanxi province, Hu county near the provincial capital of Xian municipality has over 250,000 residents, while the geographically larger, but more remote Ganquan county has only 30,000.

2010, John James Kennedy, “Rural China: Reform and Resistance”, in William A. Joseph, editor, Politics in China: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 227:

Lien Chan had a PhD from the University of Chicago and was the heir to a vast family fortune. Born in Xian, China, in the 1940s, he never developed a feel for Taiwan’s common people.

2014, Lu Hsiu-lien, Ashley Esarey, My Fight for a New Taiwan, University of Washington Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 266:

But Xian, the north-central Chinese city whose name means “western peace,” is much more than its collection of warriors. It’s one of the oldest cities in China: It has seen the likes of Marco Polo during his Silk Road journey, and been home to Buddhist sutras brought from India by Xuanzang, a monk whose journey inspired one of the greatest works of Chinese literature, “Journey to the West.” Xian was also one of the first Chinese cities introduced to Islam, and its Muslim Quarter, located in the city center, is now one of the city’s most thriving tourist areas.

2018 February 23, Lucas Peterson, “Xian Offers Terracotta Warriors, Stunning Food and Plenty of Bargains”, in New York Times, archived from the original on 2018-02-23:

A man living in a newly constructed building in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, was unable to obtain a birth registration form for his pregnant wife because no district was officially assigned to the building.

2018 August 18, Windy Li, “Heartaches, headaches and hukou: how China’s bureaucracy tangled people in red tape”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 2018-08-18, People & Culture:

“I traded half a bottle of chilli pepper for six packs of instant noodles, one courgette and two carrots,” one Xian resident wrote on Weibo, the social media platform. Xian has become the largest Chinese city to be hit with draconian restrictions since the pandemic first broke out in Wuhan and prompted Beijing to seal off that city for 76 days in early 2020.
Authorities locked down Xian on December 22 and ordered its residents to stay home after a cluster of coronavirus cases. Two hundred and fifty-five case were thought to have been recorded — tiny in comparison to outbreaks overseas. Across China today, there were 91 cases identified, including a further 35 in Xian.

2022 January 5, Didi Tang, “Chinese swap possessions for food in lockdown city”, in The Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-01-05, Coronavirus:

In 1994 a China Northwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 flying from Xian to Guangzhou crashed, killing all 160 on board in China's worst-ever air disaster, according to Aviation Safety Network.

2022 March 21, “Chinese Boeing jet crashes in mountains with 132 on board, no sign of survivors”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-03-21:

(sometimes proscribed) Alternative form of Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi, in central China.


Loki

Borrowed from Old Norse Loki, where further etymology is shown.

(Norse mythology) The god of mischief and trickery; growing progressively evil, he kills Balder, and is bound until Ragnarok, the end of the world.


nihilistic

en-adj

nihilistic (comparative more nihilistic, superlative most nihilistic)

more nihilistic (comparative)
most nihilistic (superlative)


atheistic

atheistic (comparative more atheistic, superlative most atheistic)

more atheistic (comparative)
most atheistic (superlative)


defile

en-verb

defile (third-person singular simple present defiles, present participle defiling, simple past and past participle defiled)

defiles (present singular third-person)
defiling (participle present)
defiled (participle past)
defiled (past)

From Late Middle English defilen (“to make dirty, befoul; to contaminate (the body or an organ) with dirt or disease; to pollute morally or spiritually; to desecrate, profane; to violate (the sanctity of marriage, an agreement or oath, etc.); to rape; to slander; to abuse; to destroy; to injure; to treat unfairly, oppress”) [and other forms], a variant of defoulen (“to make dirty, defile, pollute; to contaminate (the body or an organ) with dirt or disease; to pollute morally or spiritually; to desecrate, profane; to violate (the sanctity of marriage, an agreement or oath, etc.); to have sexual intercourse with; to rape; etc.”) (compare also defoilen). Defoulen is derived from Old French defouler (“to trample; to oppress; to outrage; to pollute; to violate”), from de- (prefix indicating actions are done more strongly or vigorously) + fouler (“to trample, tread on; to mistreat, oppress”), foler (“to destroy; to mistreat”) (from Vulgar Latin fullare (“to full (make cloth denser and firmer by soaking, beating, and pressing)”), from Latin fullō (“person who fulls cloth, fuller”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to blow; to inflate, swell; to bloom, flower”) or Etruscan 𐌘𐌖𐌋𐌖 (φulu)). The English word is analysable as de- (intensifying prefix) + file (“(archaic) to corrupt; to defile”).
The Middle English word defilen was probably formed from defoulen on the analogy of befilen (“to make dirty, befoul; to corrupt; to violate one's chastity; to desecrate; to slander”) and befoulen (“to make dirty, befoul; to violate one's chastity; to vilify”), respectively from filen (“to make foul, impure, or unclean, pollute; to pollute morally or spiritually; to desecrate, profane; to have sexual intercourse with; to rape; etc.”) and foulen (“to make dirty, pollute; to become dirty; to defecate; to deface or deform; to pollute morally or spiritually; to damage, injure; to destroy; to treat unfairly, oppress; to tread on, trample”). Filen and foulen are respectively from Old English fȳlan (“to befoul, defile, pollute”) and fūlian (“to foul”), both from Proto-West Germanic *fūlijan (“to make dirty, befoul”), from Proto-Germanic *fūlijaną (“to make dirty, befoul”), from *fūlaz (“dirty, foul; rotten”), from Proto-Indo-European *puH- (“foul; rotten”).
cognates
* Dutch bevuilen (“to defile, soil”)

cog

What ſo euer crepeth vpon earth, ſhall be an abhominacion vnto you, and ſhal not be eaten. […] Make not youre ſoules abhominable, and defyle you not in them, to ſtayne youre ſelues: for I am the LORDE youre God. Therfore ſhal ye ſanctifie youre ſelues, that ye maye be holy, for I am holy. And ye ſhal not defyle youreſelues on eny maner of crepynge beeſt, that crepeth vpon earth: […]

1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Leuiticus xj:[41 and 43–44], folio xlvi, verso, column 2:

That which dieth of it ſelfe, or is torne with beaſts, hee ſhall not eate to defile himſelfe therewith: I am the Lord.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 22:8, column 2:

(religion) To cause (something or someone) to become ritually unclean.


urna

From Sanskrit ऊर्णा (ūrṇā, “wool, thread”).

The urna is not worn by all, nor the monastic dress of the magnificent image of the Buddhistic prince on the right side of the great Buddha in the chanḍi Mĕndut.

1901, Isaac Groneman, translated by A. Dolk, The Hindu Ruins in the Plain of Parambanan, translation of original in Dutch:

The ûrna or mark upon the forehead and the long pierced ear lobes so generally characteristic of Buddhist images are not present in this instance.

1916, “Notes on Chinese statuary”, in The Museum Journal, volume 7, University of Pennsylvania University Museum, page 156:

Between the eyes is a curl of hair (urna), one of the identifying features of a Buddha, and the thing that looks like a nose is a miraculous light emanating from the urna (it can also be interpreted as the Nepali figure “one”, conveying the unity of all things).

2009, David Reed, The Rough Guide to Nepal, page 107:

(Buddhism) A spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark.


kehillah

en-noun

kehillah (plural kehillahs or kehillot or kehilloth)

kehillahs (plural)
kehillot (plural)
kehilloth (plural)

Borrowed from Hebrew קְהִילָּה (qəhîllâ, “a community, a congregation”).

bor+

(Judaism) A type of Jewish community in eastern Europe.

(Judaism) Any Jewish community; especially, a secular Jewish communal organization, or the secular dimension of a religious one.


IHS

(Christianity) Monogram of ΙΗϹΟYϹ, the Greek form of Jesus.


peaceful

Derived from the derogatory term religion of peace, which is used against Islam itself for its association with violent attacks by Islamic extremists, and alleged support and lack of condemnation against them by certain Muslim communities.

They only have to use a bit of code to name those people; nowadays they call them “peacefuls”. A smirking euphemism is all it takes to sail through Twitter’s filter, and keep the hate-speech flowing.

(India, Islam, Islamophobic, Internet slang, offensive) a Muslim; especially a violent member of a radical Islamist group.


Jesus freak

The phrase originally was applied to those involved in the Jesus movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, within the context of the freak scene of that era. However, some Christians now consider it a reclaimed word, as Christians, especially Christian youth, occasionally use it today as a positive term to let others know that they are not ashamed of their belief in Jesus.

What will people say when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak?
 What will people do when they find out it's true?
 I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak.
 There ain't no disguisin' the truth.

1995, “Jesus Freak”, TobyMac (lyrics), performed by dc Talk:

(Christianity, slang) An enthusiastic Christian.


deuterogamist

(theology, law) A practicer or supporter of deuterogamy.

(theology, law) One who remarries after the divorce or death of their spouse.

(theology, law) One who believes in the moral right to, and the lawfulness of, remarriage after divorce or spousal death.


lector

From Middle English lector, lectoure, lectour, from Late Latin lēctor, from legō (“I read”). “Voice-over” sense probably adapted from Polish lektor.

(religion) A lay person who reads aloud certain religious texts in a church service.


hairshirt

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

He is practically a total abstainer and I can affirm that he sleeps on a straw litter and eats the most Spartan food, cold dried grocer’s peas. He wears a hairshirt winter and summer and scourges himself every Saturday.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 15: Circe]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 466:

A shirt made of haircloth; especially one worn by ascetics or the penitent.


Bhagavad Gita

/ˈbɑːɡəvɑːd ˈɡiːtə/

Transliteration of Sanskrit भगवद्गीता (bhagavadgītā).

translit

An epic poem from Mahabharata where Krishna gives Arjuna a discourse on ethics.


ordo

Borrowed from Latin ōrdō. Doublet of order.

(Roman Catholicism) A calendar which prescribes the Mass and office which is to be celebrated each day.


Romans

(biblical) The sixth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of St Paul to the Christians in Rome.


Janus

From Latin Iānus (“the Roman god Janus”).

In the ages of victory, as often as the senate decreed some distant conquest, the consul denounced hostilities, by unbarring, in solemn pomp, the gates of the temple of Janus. Domestic war now rendered the admonition superfluous, and the ceremony was superseded by the establishment of a new religion. But the brazen temple of Janus was left standing in the forum; of a size sufficient only to contain the statue of the god, five cubits in height, of a human form, but with two faces, directed to the east and west.

1789, Edward Gibbon, chapter XLI, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume V, London: Printed for A[ndrew] Strahan, and T[homas] Cadell, in the Strand, OCLC 30106274; republished Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by William Y. Birch & Abraham Small, No. 37, South Second Street; printed by Robert Carr, 1805, OCLC 15453273, page 166

[K]nowing that the minds of the people, rendered ferocious by a military life, would never accommodate themſelves to the practice of theſe [principles of justice, laws, and morals], during the continuance of war, he [Numa Pompilius] reſolved, by a diſuſe of arms, to mollify the fierceneſs of their temper: with this view, he built a temple to Janus, near the foot of the hill Argiletum, which was to notify a ſtate either of war or of peace: when open, it denoted that the ſtate was engaged in war; when ſhut, that there was peace with all the ſurrounding nations.

1797, Titus Livius [Livy], translated by George Baker, The History of Rome, [...] In Six Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for A[ndrew] Strahan, and T[homas] Cadell Jun. and W. Davies (successor to Mr. Cadell) in the Strand, →OCLC, book I, page 35:

"I'll tell you what we can do," cried her persevering patroness; "we can go as masks, and Lady Juliana shall know nothing about it. That will save the scandal of an open revolt or a tiresome dispute. Half the company will be masked; so, if you keep your own secret, nobody will find it out. Come, what characters shall we choose?" / "That of Janus, I think, would be the most suitable for me," said Mary.

1810, anonymous [Susan Edmonstone Ferrier], “chapter XVI”, in Marriage, a Novel. In Three Volumes, volume II, Edinburgh: William Blackwood, Prince's-Street: and John Murray, Albemarle-Street, London, published 1818, →OCLC, page 218:

We find ourselves once again sitting in Committee of the Whole House to vote a war subsidy. The present occupants of the Treasury Bench are determined that so long as they retain their places the Temple of Janus shall not be closed.

1879 February 27, A[lexander] M[artin] Sullivan, “On the Zulu War” (speech before the House of Commons of the United Kingdom); quoted in William Jennings Bryan, editor, Irish Orations (The World's Famous Orations), volume VI, New York, N.Y.: Funk & Wagnalls, 1906, OCLC 23127203, and republished on Bartleby.com, 2002, archived from the original on 4 October 2015

Janus, with his two heads, his mystery, his depiction as both laughing and serious, and the obvious parallel this forms with the masks of attic tragedy and comedy would make him a double of the two-headed man, the conjurer, and an associate of the trickster in folk comedy as well.

2008, John Lowe, “Laughin’ up a World: Their Eyes Were Watching God and the (Wo)Man of Words”, in Harold Bloom, editor, Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God (Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations), new edition, New York, N.Y.: Bloom's Literary Criticism, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 75:

Good reviews look both backward and forward; an argument could even be made that one must look backward in order to discern the way forward, that backward and forward are two sides of the same research coin. Nowhere is such a Janus-like perspective more apparent than in the current set of reviews.

2011, Robert M. Hodapp, “Preface”, in Robert M. Hodapp, editor, International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, volume 41, San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, →ISBN, →ISSN, page xi:

(Roman mythology) The god of doorways, gates and transitions, and of beginnings and endings, having two faces looking in opposite directions.

Janus

Roman god of doorways, gates and transitions


Saint George

Saint George
Saint George (disambiguation)

The parishes are named after Saint George (d. 303).

Alternative forms: St George, St. George

(Christianity) Patron saint of England and several other places; legendary killer of a dragon.

Sint Joris

patron saint of England and several other places


resurrectionist

From resurrection (“the act of rising from the dead and becoming alive again”) + -ist (“forms agents of cause; forms adherents of a belief”), coined alongside resurrection man.

af

1830, A. Addis, Theory of Prophecy, Prol. p.xliv
Those who make the rest of the dead... to be the same with the remnant slain by the sword... to be consistent, ought to make the first resurrectionists the same with the armies in heaven.

(religion) A believer in a future bodily resurrection.


preparation

en-noun

preparation (countable and uncountable, plural preparations)

/ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃən/

From Middle English preparacion, from Middle French preparacion, from Latin praeparatio, praeparationem.
Morphologically prepare + -ation

(Judaism) The day before the Sabbath or other Jewish feast-day.


underworld

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

(religion or mythology) The world of the dead, located underneath the world of the living; the afterlife.

тот свет m (tot svet, literally “that world”)


provincial

/pɹəˈvɪnt͡ʃəl/

From Old French provincial, from Latin provincialis (“province”), equivalent to province + -ial.

The Franciscan provincial Diego de Landa set up a local Inquisition which unleashed a campaign of interrogation and torture on the Indio population.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 700:

(Roman Catholicism) A monastic superior, who, under the general of his order, has the direction of all the religious houses of the same fraternity in a given district, called a province of the order.

архиепископ

monastic superior who directs a province of an order


papa-

Borrowed from Latin pāpa, from Ancient Greek πάππας (páppas).

Of or pertaining to the pope or the papacy.


papaphobia

/pæpæˈfəʊbɪə/

the pathological fear of the pope or the papacy


flagellant

From Latin flagellāns, present participle of flagellāre (“to whip”).

a person who whips themselves or others either as part of a religious penance or for sexual gratification.


papaphilia

/pæpæˈfɪlɪə/

love and adoration for the pope or the papacy


retain

en-verb

retain (third-person singular simple present retains, present participle retaining, simple past and past participle retained)

retains (present singular third-person)
retaining (participle present)
retained (participle past)
retained (past)
retain (infinitive)

From Late Middle English reteinen, retein (“to continue to keep, retain; to continue to possess; to possess; to contain; to draw back, retire; to hold back, restrain; to keep in mind, remember; to take back, repossess; to appoint; to engage in one’s service, employ, hire”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reteiner, retenir [and other forms], Middle French retenir, and Old French retenir (“to keep back, retain; to keep, maintain, preserve; to possess; to engage in one’s service, employ; to detain; to hold back, restrain; to remember”) (modern French retenir), from Vulgar Latin *retinīre, from Latin retinēre, the present active infinitive of retineō (“to keep or hold back, detain, retain; to hold in check, stop; to hold fast, maintain; to keep in mind, remember”) (compare Late Latin retineō (“to keep engaged in one’s service”)), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + teneō (“to grasp, hold; to hold fast, restrain; to possess; to keep in mind, remember”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to extend, stretch”)).
Sense 1.10 (“to declare (a sin) not forgiven”) is derived from John 20:23 in the Bible, in Late Latin quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt, and in Koine Greek ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται: see the 1526 quotation.
cognates
* Catalan retenir
* Italian retenere (obsolete), ritenere
* Portuguese reter
* Spanish retener

nb...

retainen, retayne, reteign, reteigne, reteine, retene, retenne, reteyene, reteygn, reteygne, reteyign, reteyn, reteyne, retine

restenir, reteigner, reteingner, retener, retenier, retiner

lang

ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται

ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται

أَبْقَى

to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something)

Receave the holy gooſt: whoſoevers ſynnes ye remyt⸝ they are remitted vnto them: And whoſoevers ſynnes ye retayne⸝ they are retayned.

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, John xx:[23], folio clj, verso:

I vvill ſo remit vvrongs, as I may not encourage others to offer them; and ſo retaine them, as I may not induce God to retaine mine to him.

1605, Jos[eph] Hall, “Paragraph 98”, in Meditations and Vowes, Diuine and Morall. […], London: […] Humfrey Lownes, for Iohn Porter, →OCLC, 1st book, page 27:

Excommunication therefore had its effect onely upon thoſe, that beleeved that Jeſus Chriſt vvas to come again in Glory, to reign over, and to judge both the quick, and the dead, and ſhould therefore refuſe entrance into his Kingdom, to thoſe vvhoſe Sins vvere Retained; that is, to thoſe that vvere Excommunicated by the Church.

1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of the Office of Our Blessed Saviour”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC, 3rd part (Of a Christian Common-wealth), page 277:

(Christianity) To declare (a sin) not forgiven.


publisher

(Christianity) A preacher who is a Jehovah's Witness.


prelapsarian

From pre- + Latin lapsus (“fall”) + -arian.

It is the prelapsarian Polynesia of free love, noble savagery, Kon Tiki rafting and Easter Island statuary, not the Levi’s-wearing, Toyota-driving, pédalo-pushing, efflorescent-cocktails-in-a-split-coconut-serving pseudo-paradise that awaits latter-day travellers.

2001, Stephen Brown, Marketing – the Retro Revolution, London: SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 139:

Ideally, individual stories and God's plan share the same final goal, namely, returning to a prelapsarian state of perfect communication with God.

2004, Janet Bertsch, Storytelling in the works of Bunyan, Grimmelshausen, Defoe, and Schnabel, page 4:

Can you really turn a few keyboards outside London's landmarks into the equivalent of a pub honky-tonk for a good old knees-up; a 50s living room where the family would gather around the piano every evening, in some prelapsarian vision of the olden days […]?

Conservative think-tanks have the same dream of return to a prelapsarian innocence.

2010 September 23, “The perils of constitution-worship”, in The Economist:

(Judaism, Christianity) Of, or relating to the period of innocence before the Fall of man; innocent, unspoiled.


nihilism

en-noun

nihilism (countable and uncountable, plural nihilisms)

Probably borrowed from French nihilisme, German Nihilismus, or Late Latin nihilismus; the French, German, and Latin words are derived from Latin nihil (“indefinite nothing”), from nihilum (“nothing”), from ne- (prefix negating the principal meaning) + hīlum (“a trifle; not in the least”). The English word is cognate with Italian nichilismo, Spanish nihilismo, Russian нигили́зм (nigilízm), philosophical doctrine grounded on negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life; emptiness; lack of education and cultural refinement.

This great metaphysician [John Locke] considered, our ideas were derived from sensation and reflection; and preserved the distinction between these two sources of knowledge with great care; but by a perversion of his theory, his followers reduced them to sensation alone;—which by a necessary gradation leads to materialism, atheism and nihilism.

1839, William Ingalls, A Lecture on the Subject of Phrenology not Opposed to the Principles of Religion; nor the Precepts of Christianity, Boston, Mass.: Dutton and Wentworth, […], →OCLC, pages 42–43:

This view may be styled Religious Nihilism. It affirms that Theism, or faith in an Almighty and All-wise Creator, Pantheism, and Atheism, are alike mere guesses in the dark, and that nothing is or can be known of that mysterious Something, which is the origin of the universe.

1872, T[homas] R[awson] Birks, “On Religious Nihilism”, in The Scripture Doctrine of Creation, with Reference to Religious Nihilism and Modern Theories of Development, London: The Christian Evidence Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; […], →OCLC, page 6:

Nihilism is the result of continued and extreme philosophical scepticism [...] Among the first developments of Greek philosophy we find the nihilism of Georgias, one of the Sophists, and a contemporary of Socrates. He taught (1) that nothing exists; for if anything were, its being must be either derived or eternal; but it cannot have been derived, whether from the existent or from the non-existent (according to the Eleatics); nor can it be eternal, for then it must be infinite; but the infinite is nowhere, since it can neither be in itself nor in anything else, and what is nowhere is not.

1894, John M‘Clintock [i.e., John McClintock], James Strong, “Nihilism”, in Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, volumes VII (NEW–PES), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 91, column 2:

Psychological nihilism is a vulgar reaction to the difficulty of knowing the world, but it is also a way of reacting to the fear of nihilism. What is more, the vulgar threat of nihilism is overcome by [Friedrich] Nietzsche's authentic antinihilism. And yet false categories of information induce psychological nihilism, since we only value, as Nietzsche argues, a fictitious world.

1999, Angèle Kremer-Marietti, “Nietzsche’s Critique of Modern Reason”, in Babette Babich, Robert S. Cohen, editors, Nietzsche, Theories of Knowledge, and Critical Theory: Nietzsche and the Sciences I (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science; 203), Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media, →DOI, →ISBN, page 88:

If, in its origin, nihilism is a will to escape from the immanent "chaos" to a transcendent, illusory world, with modernity, or, with the "death of God," this originary nihilism divides itself into two: radical and passive nihilism. [...] There is therefore a strange symmetry between the two nihilisms, between (Ahab's) willing nothingness and (Ishmael's) annihilation of will.

2014, Bülent Diken, “Nihilism, Revolt, and the Spectacle”, in Nitzan Lebovic, Roy Ben-Shai, editors, The Politics of Nihilism: From the Nineteenth Century to Contemporary Israel (Political Theory and Contemporary Philosophy), New York, N.Y., London: Bloomsbury Academic, Blooms Publishing, →ISBN, page 82:

(countable, uncountable, philosophy) A doctrine grounded on the negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life; in particular, the view that nothing in the world actually exists.


NAS

New American Standard
w:New American Standard Bible

(Christianity) Initialism of New American Standard. (Bible)


popish

en-adj

popish (comparative more popish, superlative most popish)

more popish (comparative)
most popish (superlative)

I do, therefore, much blame the petulcity of whatsoever author, that should dare to impute a Popish affection to him […]

(derogatory, used by early Protestants) of or pertaining to Roman Catholicism


churchward

A contraction of churchwarden, in turn from Old English cyrce + weard a "churchwarden" or "sacristan".

(Christianity) Obsolete spelling of churchwarden.


BT

en-noun

BT (countable and uncountable, plural BTs)