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hierophant

American  
[hahy-er-uh-fant, hahy-ruh-, hahy-er-uh-] / ˈhaɪ ər əˌfænt, ˈhaɪ rə-, haɪˈɛr ə- /

noun

  1. (in ancient Greece) an official expounder of rites of worship and sacrifice.

  2. any interpreter of sacred mysteries or esoteric principles; mystagogue.

hierophant British  
/ ˈhaɪərəˌfænt /

noun

  1. (in ancient Greece) an official high priest of religious mysteries, esp those of Eleusis

  2. a person who interprets and explains esoteric mysteries

"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

Other Word Forms

  • hierophantic adjective
  • hierophantically adverb

Etymology

Origin of hierophant

1670–80; < Late Latin hierophanta < Greek hierophántēs, equivalent to hiero- hiero- + -phántēs, derivative of phaínein to show, make known

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.