apostle

apostle
apostle (n.) O.E. apostol "messenger," especially the 12 witnesses sent forth by Jesus to preach his Gospel, from L.L. apostolus, from Gk. apostolos "messenger, person sent forth," from apostellein "send away, send forth," from apo- "from" (see APO- (Cf. apo-)) + stellein in its secondary sense of "to send," from PIE *stel-yo-, suffixed form of root *stel- "to put, stand," with derivatives referring to a standing object or place (see STALL (Cf. stall) (n.1)). Cf. EPISTLE (Cf. epistle).
The current form of the word, predominant since 16c., is influenced by O.Fr. apostle (12c.), from the same Late Latin source. Figurative sense of "chief advocate of a new principle or system" is from 1810. Apostles, short for "The Acts and Epistles of the Apostles," is attested from c.1400.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Apostle — A*pos tle, n. [OE. apostle, apostel, postle, AS. apostol, L. apostolus, fr. Gr. ? messenger, one sent forth or away, fr. ? to send off or away; ? from + ? to send; akin to G. stellen to set, E. stall: cf. F. ap[^o]tre, Of. apostre, apostle,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • APOSTLE — (Gr. messenger ), in early Christian usage, term applied to the disciples of jesus whom he had sent out to preach his message, and occasionally also applied to other missionaries of the early period. Outside the New Testament the noun ἁπόστολος… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • apostle — ► NOUN 1) (Apostle) each of the twelve chief disciples of Jesus Christ. 2) an enthusiastic and pioneering supporter of an idea or cause. ORIGIN Greek apostolos messenger …   English terms dictionary

  • apostle — [ə päs′əl] n. [ME < OE apostol < LL(Ec) apostolus < Gr apostolos, person sent forth < apostellein < apo , from + stellein, to send: see STILL1] 1. a person sent out on a special mission 2. [usually A ] any of the twelve disciples… …   English World dictionary

  • apostle — index disciple, partisan Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • apostle — [n] preacher; supporter advocate, champion, companion, converter, evangelist, follower, herald, messenger, missionary, pioneer, propagandist, proponent, proselytizer, witness; concepts 359,361 …   New thesaurus

  • Apostle — An apostle is a messenger and ambassador.Apostle and apostles may also refer to:In religion: * The Twelve Apostles, 12 of Jesus disciples chosen by him and given the Great Commission * The Seventy Disciples, referred to as Seventy Apostles by the …   Wikipedia

  • apostle — apostlehood, apostleship, n. /euh pos euhl/, n. 1. any of the early followers of Jesus who carried the Christian message into the world. 2. (sometimes cap.) any of the original 12 disciples called by Jesus to preach the gospel: Simon Peter, the… …   Universalium

  • Apostle —    A person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as designating the body of disciples to whom he… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • apostle — a|pos|tle [əˈpɔsəl US əˈpa: ] n [Date: 900 1000; : Late Latin; Origin: apostolus, from Greek, bringer of messages, apostle , from apostellein to send away , from apo ( APOCALYPSE) + stellein to send ] 1.) one of the 12 people chosen by Jesus… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

Share the article and excerpts

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