apostle

See also: Apostle

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈpɑsl̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈpɒs(ə)l/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒsəl

Etymology 1

From Middle English apostle, from Old French apostle, from Late Latin apostolus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos, “one sent forth, apostle”). Merged with Old English apostol, borrowing from the same Latin source.

Noun

apostle (plural apostles)

1. A missionary, or leader of a religious mission, especially one in the early Christian Church (but see Apostle).
2. A pioneer or early advocate of a particular cause, prophet of a belief.
   • 1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Eve of the War”, in The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, published 1898, →OCLC, book I (The Coming of the Martians), pages 4–5:

     [W]e must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished bison and the dodo, but upon its own inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?

3. A top-ranking ecclesiastical official in the twelve seat administrative council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
4. (obsolete, Cambridge slang) A person who is plucked, that is, refused an academic degree.

Synonyms

• disciple

Derived terms

• apostlebird
• apostlehood
• apostle mistletoe (Dendrophthoe vitellina)
• Apostles' Creed
• apostleship
• apostle spoon
• apostless
• apostolate
• apostolic
• apostolicity
• apostolize
• pseudoapostle

 

Related terms

• apostolado

Translations

missionary or leader of a mission

• Aghwan: 𐕆𐔴𐔱𐔼𐔺𐔰𐔺𐕒 (hebiyayo)
• Arabic: رَسُول (ar) m (rasūl)
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܫܠܝܼܚܵܐ (šlīḥā)

• Armenian: առաքյալ (hy) (aṙakʻyal)
• Asturian: apóstol m
• Azerbaijani: həvari (az)
• Breton: abostol (br) m
• Bulgarian: апо́стол (bg) m (apóstol)
• Burmese: တမန်တော် (ta.mantau)
• Catalan: apòstol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 使徒 (zh) (shǐtú)

• Coptic: ⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲟⲥ m or m pl (apostolos)
• Cornish: abostol m
• Czech: apoštol (cs) m
• Danish: apostel c
• Dutch: apostel (nl) m, zendeling (nl) m
• Estonian: apostel
• Finnish: apostoli (fi), lähetyssaarnaaja (fi)
• French: apôtre (fr) m, apôtre (fr) f, apôtresse (fr) f

  Old French: apostre m, apostle m

• Friulian: apuestul m
• Galician: apóstolo (gl) m
• Georgian: მოციქული (mocikuli)
• German: Apostel (de) m, Apostelin (de) f, (fig.) Jünger (de) m
• Greek: απόστολος (el) m (apóstolos)
• Hebrew: שָׁלִיחַ (he) m (shalíaẖ), שְׁלִיחָה f (shliẖá)
• Hungarian: apostol (hu)
• Indonesian: rasul (id)
• Irish: aspal m
• Italian: apostolo (it) m
• Japanese: 使徒 (ja) (しと, shito)
• Lao: ອັກຄະສາວົກ (ʼak kha sā wok)
• Luxembourgish: Apostel m
• Macedonian: апостол m (apostol)
• Malayalam: ശ്ലീഹാ (ml) (ślīhā)
• Manx: ostyl m
• Maori: āpotoro
• Norman: apôtre m or f
• Old Church Slavonic: апостолъ m (apostolŭ)
• Old English: apostol m
• Ottoman Turkish: پیغامبر (peygamber)
• Polish: apostoł (pl) m, apostołka (pl) f
• Portuguese: apóstolo (pt) m
• Russian: апо́стол (ru) m (apóstol)
• Scottish Gaelic: abstol m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: pósoł m

• Spanish: apóstol (es) m
• Swahili: mtume (sw) class 3/4
• Swedish: apostel (sv) c
• Tagalog: alagad (tl)
• Thai: อัครสาวก
• Turkish: havaryun, havari (tr)
• Vietnamese: sứ đồ (vi) (Protestantism), tông đồ (vi) (Roman Catholicism)
• Volapük: paostolan (vo)
• Walloon: apoisse (wa) m, apôte (wa) m
• Welsh: apostol (cy) m
• Yiddish: אַפּאָסטאָל m (apostol)

pioneer — see pioneer

top-ranking Mormon church official

• Finnish: apostoli (fi)
• French: apôtre (fr) m, apôtre (fr) f
• Galician: apóstolo (gl) m
• German: Apostel (de) m, Apostelin (de) f
• Portuguese: apóstolo (pt) m
• Spanish: apóstol (es) m
• Volapük: paostolan (vo)

(Cambridge) person who is refused his academic degree

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} apostull (sq)
• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} appostlu
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} apostol (ro) m

Etymology 2

See apostil.

Noun

apostle (plural apostles)

1. (law) A letter dismissory.
2. (law) A note sent to an appeals court presenting the appeal in summary.
3. (law) The trial court record sent to an appeal court concerning an appeal.

Anagrams

• ale post, alepots, eoplast, posetal

Old French

Alternative forms

• apostre

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin apostolus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos, “one sent forth, apostle”).

Noun

apostle oblique singular, m (oblique plural apostles, nominative singular apostles, nominative plural apostle)

1. apostle
   • c. 1100,, Chanson de Roland:

     Recleimet Deu e l'apostle de Rome

     Imploring God and the apostle of Rome

Descendants

• English: apostle
• French: apôtre
• Norman: apôtre