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proselyte

[pros-uh-lahyt]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR proselyte ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

verb (used with or without object), pros·e·lyt·ed, pros·e·lyt·ing.

proselytize.

RELATED WORDS

satisfy, urge, prompt, incline, get, cajole, exhort, influence, induce, enlist, assure, woo, entice, impress, advise, sway, coax, turn, move, bring

Origin of proselyte

1325–75; Middle English < Late Latin prosēlytus < Greek (Septuagint) prosḗlytos, for *prosḗlythos newcomer, proselyte, equivalent to prosēlyth- (suppletive stem of prosérchesthai to approach) + -os noun suffix
Related formspros·e·lyt·er, noun

Synonyms for proselyte

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR proselyte ON THESAURUS.COM
1. neophyte, disciple.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for proselyting

Historical Examples of proselyting

  • Proselyting Buddhists, however, found their way from India and brought civilization with them.

    Travels in the Far East

    Ellen Mary Hayes Peck

British Dictionary definitions for proselyting

proselyte

noun

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

verb

a less common word for proselytize
Derived Formsproselytism (ˈprɒsɪlɪˌtɪzəm), nounproselytic (ˌprɒsɪˈlɪtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for proselyte

C14: from Church Latin prosēlytus, from Greek prosēlutos recent arrival, convert, from proserchesthai to draw near
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 proselyting

proselyte

n.

late 14c., from Old French proselite (13c., Modern French prosélyte), from Late Latin proselytus, from Greek proselytos "convert (to Judaism), stranger, one who has come over," noun use of adjective meaning "having arrived," from second aorist stem of proserkhesthai "to come or go; surrender; associate with," from proti "toward" + root of eleusesthai "to be going to come," from PIE *elu-to-, from root *leudh- "to go." Originally in English "a Gentile converted to Judaism" (late 14c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper