Mithraism

[ mith-ruh-iz-uh m ]

/ ˈmɪθ rəˌɪz əm /

noun

an ancient Persian religion in which Mithras was worshiped, involving secret rituals to which only men were admitted: a major competitor of Christianity in the Roman empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries a.d.

Also Mith·ra·i·cism

[mith-rey-uh-siz-uh m] /mɪθˈreɪ əˌsɪz əm/.

Origin of Mithraism

Mithra(s) + -ism

Related forms

Mith·ra·ic

[mith-rey-ik] /mɪθˈreɪ ɪk/, Mith·ra·is·tic, adjectiveMith·ra·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mithraism

The most curious instance of the essential identity of the nature deities of the West and East will be found in Mithraism.
The Expositor's Bible: The Acts of the Apostles, Vol. 1|G. T. Stokes
The votary to Mithraism actually bathed in the blood of the sacrificial bull.
A Short History of the World|H. G. Wells
In the reign of Pompey, Mithraism, a cult borrowed from Persia, was spread throughout the empire.
Reincarnation|Th. Pascal
And Mithraism itself regarded religion under the figure of a warfare.
The Origin of Paul's Religion|J. Gresham Machen

Manicheism, unlike Mithraism, was not to succumb, but merely to retreat before Christianity.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for mithraism

Mithraism

Mithraicism (mɪθˈreɪɪˌsɪzəm)

/ (ˈmɪθreɪˌɪzəm) /

noun

the ancient Persian religion of Mithras. It spread to the Roman Empire during the first three centuries ad

Derived Forms

Mithraic (mɪθˈreɪɪk) or Mithraistic, adjectiveMithraist, noun, adjective

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