catechumen
Americannoun
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Ecclesiastical. a person under instruction in the rudiments of Christianity, as in the early church; a neophyte.
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a person being taught the elementary facts, principles, etc., of any subject.
noun
Other Word Forms
- catechumenal adjective
- catechumenate noun
- catechumenical adjective
- catechumenically adverb
- catechumenism noun
Etymology
Origin of catechumen
1325–75; < Late Latin catēchūmenus < Greek katēchoúmenos (one who is) being taught orally, equivalent to katēche-, stem of katēcheîn to teach orally ( catechist ) + -omenos middle present participle suffix; replacing Middle English cathecumyn < Middle French cathecumine < Late Latin, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thereupon she called her brother to her, and that catechumen, and spoke to them, saying: Stand fast in the faith, and love you all one another; and be not offended because of our passion.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
Born of heathen parents, he turned to Christ and became a catechumen.
From Time Magazine Archive
He then had recourse to another means of escape, urging that he was only a catechumen and could not lawfully be elected a bishop.
From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)
Another candidate rather surprised the examiner by stating that "in the early Church, before a person was baptized, he was obliged to learn a catechumen."
From Lighter Moments from the Notebook of Bishop Walsham How by How, Frederick Douglas
A catechumen was a person who desired instruction in the new faith with a view to baptism and admission into the Church.
From History of Education by Seeley, Levi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
