disciple
[dih-sahy-puh l]
- Religion.
- one of the 12 personal followers of Christ.
- one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ. Luke 10:1.
- any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime.
- any follower of Christ.
- (initial capital letter) a member of the Disciples of Christ.
- a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower: a disciple of Freud.
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- Archaic. to convert into a disciple.
- Obsolete. to teach; train.
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Origin of disciple
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com4. See pupil1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
enthusiast, devotee, adherent, fanatic, apostle, learner, cohort, zealot, pupil, buff, satellite, freak, nut, proselyte, partisan, convert, sectary, bug, votary, junkieExamples from the Web for disciples
Contemporary Examples
Buddhist and Hindu literature is rich with stories of disciples finally learning to surrender in this way.
On August 9, 1969, Manson sent four of his disciples to invade the home of film director Roman Polanski, who was away on a shoot.
To James, and to his disciples—of which there were many—Booker was not like them.
Qutb himself did not make the Caliphate central to his thought, but his disciples saw it as the only antidote to jahiliyyah.
In all likelihood, he was—like his disciples and contemporaries—dark-haired, dark-eyed, and olive-skinned.
Historical Examples
The book of Christianity must be interpreted by the disciples of Christianity.
Understanding the ScripturesFrancis McConnell
Fie had collected twenty-four of us, whom he called his 'disciples,' and shamed am I to say, I was one.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
The solicitude of the disciples on this occasion was highly laudable.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. IIFrancis Augustus Cox
His successors and disciples have advanced so far as to be able to say when.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
The wild enthusiasm of his disciples had its effect on the teacher.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
disciple
- a follower of the doctrines of a teacher or a school of thought
- one of the personal followers of Christ (including his 12 apostles) during his earthly life
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Word Origin
Old English discipul, from Latin discipulus pupil, from discere to learn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for disciples
disciple
n.
Old English discipul (fem. discipula), Biblical borrowing from Latin discipulus "pupil, student, follower," said to be from discere "to learn" [OED, Watkins], from a reduplicated form of PIE root *dek- "to take, accept" (see decent).
But according to Barnhart and Klein, from a lost compound *discipere "to grasp intellectually, analyze thoroughly," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + capere "to take, take hold of" (see capable). Cf. Latin capulus "handle" from capere. Sometimes glossed in Old English by þegn (see thane).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
disciples
Note
In general, a disciple is an active follower of a leader or movement, religious or otherwise.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.