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Laodicean

[ley-od-uh-see-uh n, ley-uh-duh-]
adjective
  1. lukewarm or indifferent, especially in religion, as were the early Christians of Laodicea.
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noun
  1. a person who is lukewarm or indifferent, especially in religion.
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Origin of Laodicean

First recorded in 1605–15; Laodice(a) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for laodicean

Historical Examples of laodicean

  • Verily we are in the last--the Laodicean stage--that of the Lukewarm Church.

    The Chocolate Soldier

    C. T. Studd

  • Is it possible that we have the lost Laodicean document in the epistle before us?

  • The Laodicean attitude of a shrewd publisher hurt her less than at first.

    The Higher Court

    Mary Stewart Daggett

  • And the Laodicean must represent her last, and so her worst condition!

  • Naturally the public could not swallow it, for even God cannot digest a Laodicean.

    Essays on Russian Novelists

    William Lyon Phelps

British Dictionary definitions for laodicean

laodicean

adjective
  1. lukewarm and indifferent, esp in religious matters
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noun
  1. a person having a lukewarm attitude towards religious matters
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Word Origin for laodicean

C17: referring to the early Christians of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14–16)
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 laodicean

Laodicean

"lukewarm in religion," 1560s, from Laodicea, Syrian city (modern Latakia) whose early Christians were chastised in the Bible for indifference to their religion [Rev. iii:14-16]. The city is said to be named for the 3c B.C.E. Syrian queen Laodice, wife of Antiochus II.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper