hierophant
Americannoun
-
hierophants
plural
-
(in ancient Greece) an official expounder of rites of worship and sacrifice.
-
any interpreter of sacred mysteries or esoteric principles; mystagogue.
noun
-
(in ancient Greece) an official high priest of religious mysteries, esp those of Eleusis
-
a person who interprets and explains esoteric mysteries
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hierophant
1670–80; < Late Latin hierophanta < Greek hierophántēs, equivalent to hiero- hiero- + -phántēs, derivative of phaínein to show, make known
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.
See Examples For:
But a successful heist leads to catastrophic complications when Sancia receives warning that an ancient, impossibly powerful scriver is en route to Tevanne — a hierophant, one of the original creators of their magic technology.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2020
He was essentially a legislative man, not so much an ideologue as a hierophant of parliamentary procedure.
From Time Magazine Archive
There were, of course, great differences between Rubens and his hierophant Watteau.
From Time Magazine Archive
The robe of the hierophant was a long purple garment; his hair, crowned with a wreath of myrtle, flowed in long locks over his shoulders, and a diadem ornamented his forehead.
From The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites by Dudley Wright
Having thoroughly purified him, the hierophant now discloses to the initiated a region all over illuminated and shining with a divine splendour.
From The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites by Dudley Wright
As Morton’s work spreads beyond cultural hierophants such as Björk to the pages of major news outlets, he is arguably becoming our most popular guide to the new epoch.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2017
We are not muttering hierophants, cautiously revealing a little to a few, and fooling the rest with ceremonies and words.
From The Expositor's Bible: Colossians and Philemon by Alexander Maclaren
The "Word" written on the stone is the sacred Word, the "lost Word" which Swedenborg said was to be sought for amongst the hierophants of Tartary and Tibet, whom theosophists call the Masters.
From Reincarnation A Study in Human Evolution by Fred Rothwell
They are judging the universe as they have heretofore permitted the hierophants of religion and learning to judge THEM.
From Pragmatism by William James
The Cadmean magic has passed from the hands of hierophants into those of the people.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 83, September, 1864 by Various
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.
