Rastafarian

[ras-tuh-fair-ee-uhn, -fahr-, rah-stuh-]

noun

1. a follower of Rastafarianism.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Rastafarianism or Rastafarians.

Rastafarian

/ ˌræstəˈfɛərɪən /

noun

1. a member of an originally Jamaican religion that regards Ras Tafari (the former emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie) as God

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the Rastafarians

Word History and Origins

Origin of Rastafarian¹

First recorded in 1935; from Amharic ras täfäri “Prince Tafari,” the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie ( ras “prince,” originally, “head”; täfäri an Amharic personal name, literally, “(one to be) feared, respected,” present participle from passive stem of the verb färra “fear, respect”) + -an

Example Sentences

The US Supreme Court on Monday heard the case of a devout Rastafarian who is seeking damages after his knee-length dreadlocks were forcibly shorn while he was in prison in Louisiana.

Read more on Barron's

He handed the intake officer a copy of a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court, which held that federal law requires accommodating Rastafarian inmates.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Louisiana Department of Corrections involves whether an inmate of a minority religious group, the Rastafarians, can sue for monetary damages after the warden violated his religious rights – specifically, the right to not cut his hair.

Read more on Salon

Follow-ups like “The Marshall” and “Come Again” incorporated more spiritual Rastafarian lyrical themes, and he joined a supergroup with Shabba Ranks and Home T that scored a big hit with “Holding On.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, said that Rastafarian inmates in Louisiana must be allowed to keep their dreadlocks under a 2000 federal law protecting prisoners’ religious freedom.

Read more on New York Times