Baptist

[ bap-tist ]

/ ˈbæp tɪst /

noun

a member of a Christian denomination that baptizes believers by immersion and that is usually Calvinistic in doctrine.

(lowercase) a person who baptizes.

the Baptist. John the Baptist.

adjective

Also Bap·tis·tic. of or relating to Baptists or their doctrines or practices.

Origin of Baptist

1150–1200; Middle English baptiste < Old French < Late Latin baptista < Greek baptistḗs, equivalent to bapt(ízein) to baptize + -istēs -ist

Related formsnon-Bap·tist, noun, adjectivepro-Bap·tist, adjective, nounpseu·do-Bap·tist, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for baptist

Scott, who died Sunday at 49, could go from evoking a Baptist preacher to quoting Public Enemy.
Remembering ESPN’s Sly, Cocky, and Cool Anchor Stuart Scott|Stereo Williams|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This was the young, telegenic, and popular Robby Gallaty of Brainerd Baptist (mega-)Church in Tennessee.
The Hateful Pastor All Too Happy to Be Left Behind When It Comes to Gays|Jay Michaelson|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, for the Baptist Convention, this was a matter of theology, not rationality.
Southern Baptist Convention: Trans People Don’t Exist|Jay Michaelson|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She spends a lot of time at her Baptist church—Wednesday night Bible study and Sunday services.
One Breakdown Can Mean Losing Your Kid Forever|ProPublica|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As for Deborah, there was certainly a puritanical strain in society, but she was a Baptist.
The Cross-Dressing Revolutionary: Alex Myers’ New Novel|Eric Herschthal|February 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
God had placed him there, like another John the Baptist, to announce penance to the world.
The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6|E. Rameur
The special circumstances attending the birth and naming of the Baptist probably supplied the chief factor in its triumph.
The Romance of Names|Ernest Weekley
The Baptist is twisting round, to display the foreshortening which Pordenone particularly affects.
The Venetian School of Painting|Evelyn March Phillipps
Two days before the feast of St. John the Baptist, the two made a special tour through the parish for certain recruits.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete|Gilbert Parker
A young man, who had never paid his bill, put her into two-inch ribbon from the Baptist preacher's shop.
The Maid of Sker|Richard Doddridge Blackmore

British Dictionary definitions for baptist

Baptist

/ (ˈbæptɪst) /

noun

a member of any of various Christian sects that affirm the necessity of baptism (usually of adults and by immersion) following a personal profession of the Christian faith

the Baptist See John the Baptist

adjective

denoting, relating to, or characteristic of any Christian sect that affirms the necessity of baptism following a personal profession of the Christian faith

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for baptist

baptist

c.1200, "one who baptizes;" see baptize + -ist. As "member of a Protestant sect that believes in adult baptism by immersion" (with capital B-), attested from 1654; their opponents called them anabaptists.