Nazarene

[naz-uh-reen, naz-uh-reen]

noun

a native or inhabitant of Nazareth.

a member of a sect of early Jewish converts to Christianity who retained the Mosaic ritual.

the Nazarene, Jesus Christ.

adjective

of or relating to Nazareth or the Nazarenes.

Origin of Nazarene

1225–75; Middle English < Late Latin Nazarēnus < Greek Nazarēnós, equivalent to Nazar(ét) Nazareth + -ēnos suffix of origin

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

Examples from the Web for nazarene

Historical Examples of nazarene

You've killed the creature, and may you starve and die yourself, you dog of a Nazarene!
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
Then the Nazarene uttered his only word of complaint: "I thirst."
The Centurion's Story
David James Burrell
Are all followers of the Nazarene compelled to wear turbans.
The Napoleon of Notting Hill
Gilbert K. Chesterton
Yet more people read Socrates, and believed on the Nazarene every year.
The Master-Knot of Human Fate
Ellis Meredith
My Nazarene guide, riding ahead of the party, led on over the bridge.
The World's Greatest Books, Volume 19
Various

British Dictionary definitions for nazarene

Nazarene

noun Also: Nazarite

an early name for a Christian (Acts 24:5) or (when preceded by the) for Jesus Christ

a member of one of several groups of Jewish-Christians found principally in Syria

a member of an association of German artists called the Nazarenes or Brotherhood of St Luke, including Friedrich Overbeck (1789–1869) and Peter von Cornelius (1783–1867), founded (1809) in Vienna to revive German religious art after the examples of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance

adjective

of or relating to Nazareth or the Nazarenes

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 nazarene

Nazarene

c.1200, "holy man;" early 13c., "a native or resident of Nazareth," childhood home of Jesus, from Late Latin Nazarenus, from Greek Nazarenos, from Hebrew Natzerath. As an adjective from late 13c. As "a follower of Jesus" from late 14c. In Talmudic Hebrew notzri, literally "of Nazareth," meant "a Christian;" likewise Arabic Nasrani (plural Nasara). In Christian use, however, it can be a nickname for Jesus, or refer to an early Jewish Christian sect (1680s in English), or, in modern use, to a member of the Church of the Nazarene, a U.S.-based Protestant denomination (1898 in this sense).