missionary

missionary
{{11}}missionary (adj.) "sent on a mission," 1640s, from Mod.L. missionarius "pertaining to a mission," from L. missionem (see MISSION (Cf. mission)).
{{12}}missionary (n.) 1650s, from MISSIONARY (Cf. missionary) (adj.). Missionary position attested by 1963, said to have been coined by Kinsey (1948), who identified its origin in work done by Polish anthropologist BronisЕ‚aw Malinowski in Melanesia in the 1920s; allegedly from the term used by South Pacific peoples to describe what Christian missionaries promoted to replace their local variations. By late 1960s it became the general term for this type of sex, formerly also known as the English-American position.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Missionary — Mis sion*ary, n.; pl. {Missionaries}. [Cf. F. missionnaire. See {Mission}, n.] One who is sent on a mission; especially, one sent to propagate religion. Swift. [1913 Webster] {Missionary apostolic}, a Roman Catholic missionary sent by commission… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Missionary — Mis sion*a*ry, a. Of or pertaining to missions; as, a missionary meeting; a missionary fund. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • missionary — ► NOUN (pl. missionaries) ▪ a person sent on a religious mission. ► ADJECTIVE ▪ of or characteristic of a missionary or religious mission …   English terms dictionary

  • missionary — [n] person who aids, does religious work apostle, clergy, clergyperson, converter, evangelist, herald, messenger, minister, missioner, pastor, preacher, promoter, propagandist, proselytizer, revivalist, teacher; concepts 361,416 …   New thesaurus

  • missionary — [mish′ənərmish′əner΄ē] adj. [ModL (Ec) missionarius] of or characteristic of missions or missionaries, esp. religious ones n. pl. missionaries a person sent on a mission, esp. on a religious mission: also missioner [mish′ənər] …   English World dictionary

  • Missionary — For other uses, see Missionary (disambiguation). A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development.[1][2]… …   Wikipedia

  • missionary — mis|sion|a|ry1 [ˈmıʃənəri US neri] n plural missionaries someone who has been sent to a foreign country to teach people about Christianity and persuade them to become Christians missionary 2 missionary2 adj [only before noun] 1.) relating to the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • missionary — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ foreign ▪ pioneer ▪ evangelical, medical ▪ Catholic, Protestant, etc …   Collocations dictionary

  • missionary — [[t]mɪ̱ʃənri, neri[/t]] missionaries 1) N COUNT A missionary is a Christian who has been sent to a foreign country to teach people about Christianity. 2) ADJ: ADJ n Missionary is used to describe the activities of missionaries. You should be in… …   English dictionary

  • missionary — UK [ˈmɪʃ(ə)n(ə)rɪ] / US [ˈmɪʃ(ə)nˌerɪ] noun [countable] Word forms missionary : singular missionary plural missionaries someone who has been sent to a place by a religious organization to teach the people there about a particular religion a… …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”