proselyte

American  

[pros-uh-lahyt] / ˈprɒs əˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a person who has changed from one opinion, religious belief, sect, or the like, to another; convert.

   Synonyms:

   novice, neophyte

---

verb (used with or without object)

proselyted, proselyting

1. proselytize.

proselyte British  

/ ˈprɒsɪlɪˌtɪzəm, ˈprɒsɪˌlaɪt, ˌprɒsɪˈlɪtɪk /

noun

1. a person newly converted to a religious faith or sect; a convert, esp a gentile converted to Judaism

---

verb

1. a less common word for proselytize

Other Word Forms

• proselyter noun
• proselytic adjective
• proselytism noun

Etymology

Origin of proselyte

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Late Latin prosēlytus, from Greek (Septuagint) prosḗlytos, for unattested prosḗlythos “newcomer, proselyte,” equivalent to prosēlyth- (suppletive stem of prosérchesthai “to approach”) + -os noun suffix

Explanation

A proselyte is a new convert, especially someone who has recently switched from one religion to another. In some Christian churches, a proselyte must be baptized. You can use the word proselyte to talk about any kind of convert, even those that aren't religious. You could, for example, call your brother a proselyte if he voted for a Republican in the last election but recently joined the Democratic party. The most common use of the word, however, is someone who converts to Judaism. Proselyte has a Greek root, proselytos, which means both "convert to Judaism" and "one who has come over."

Example Sentences

Janet Kitselman also became a proselyte for the history of Waterford, helping to create educational programming at the town’s Second Street School.

From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2021

Mary Frank, the artist, is his friend and fellow solar-cooking proselyte.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 23, 2019

Christian Angermayer is an unlikely proselyte of psychedelia: The German financier didn’t drink so much as a sip of beer for the first three decades of his life.

From Scientific American • Jul. 9, 2019

A 52-year-old mother of four whose usual definition of “excess” is a wine spritzer, Ms. Waldman may seem an unlikely proselyte for a second Age of Aquarius.

From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2017

After his immersion, the elders write a letter, unknown to the proselyte himself.

From The City of the Mormons or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842 by Caswall, Henry