Puritan

Puritan
Puritan 1560s, "opponent of Anglican hierarchy," later applied opprobriously to "person in Church of England who seeks further reformation" (1570s), probably from PURITY (Cf. purity).
What [William] Perkins, and the whole Puritan movement after him, sought was to replace the personal pride of birth and status with the professional's or craftsman's pride of doing one's best in one's particular calling. The good Christian society needs the best of kings, magistrates, and citizens. Perkins most emphasized the work ethic from Genesis: "In the swaete of thy browe shalt thou eate thy breade." [E. Digby Baltzell, "Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia," 1979]
After c.1590s, applied to anyone deemed overly strict in matters of religion and morals.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • puritan — PURITÁN, Ă, puritani, e, s.m. şi f., adj. 1. s.m. şi f. Adept al puritanismului; p. ext. persoană care practică sau afişează o moralitate foarte severă. 2. adj. Care aparţine puritanismului, privitor la puritanism; p. ext. care profesează sau… …   Dicționar Român

  • puritan — ► NOUN 1) (Puritan) a member of a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. 2) a person with censorious moral beliefs, especially about self indulgence and sex. ► ADJECTIVE… …   English terms dictionary

  • Puritan — Pu ri*tan, n. [From {Purity}.] 1. (Eccl. Hist.) One who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth and the first two Stuarts, opposed traditional and formal usages, and advocated simpler forms of faith and worship than those established by law; originally,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Puritan — Pu ri*tan, a. Of or pertaining to the Puritans; resembling, or characteristic of, the Puritans. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Puritan — [pyoor′i tən] n. [< LL puritas (see PURITY) + AN] 1. any member of a Protestant group in England and the American colonies that in the 16th and 17th cent., wanted to make the Church of England simpler in its services and stricter about morals… …   English World dictionary

  • Puritan — A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more purity of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far… …   Wikipedia

  • puritan — [[t]pjʊ͟ərɪt(ə)n[/t]] puritans 1) N COUNT (disapproval) You describe someone as a puritan when they live according to strict moral or religious principles, especially when they disapprove of physical pleasures. Bykov had forgotten that Malinin… …   English dictionary

  • puritan — noun (C) 1 someone who has very strict moral standards and thinks that pleasure is unnecessary or wrong 2 Puritan a member of a Protestant religious group in the 16th and 17th centuries, who wanted to make religion simpler puritan also Puritan… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • puritan — pu|ri|tan [ˈpjuərıtən US ˈpjur ] n [Date: 1500 1600; : Late Latin; Origin: puritas purity , from Latin purus; PURE] 1.) someone with strict moral views who thinks that pleasure is unnecessary and wrong 2.) Puritan a member of a Protestant… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • puritan — [ pjʊərɪt(ə)n] noun 1》 (Puritan) a member of a group of English Protestants who regarded the Reformation of the Church under Elizabeth I as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. 2》 a person with censorious moral beliefs …   English new terms dictionary

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