protestant
protestant Lexical Profile
protestant Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, belonging to, or characteristic of Protestantism or any of the Western Christian churches that separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation.
"The historic cathedral was converted for Protestant worship during the sixteenth-century Reformation."
Making a protest or expressing formal objection and dissent.
"A small protestant faction within the committee voiced its opposition to the revised charter."
• noun
A member or follower of any of the Western Christian churches that are separate from the Roman Catholic Church and trace their origins to the principles of the 16th-century Reformation.
"By the late sixteenth century, the majority of the town's citizens had become Protestants."
A person who publicly declares an objection or protests against an established policy, law, or practice.
"He remained an outspoken protestant against the censorship laws throughout his career."
Word Nuance & Usage
When capitalized as 'Protestant', the word specifically refers to Western Christian denominations originating from the 16th-century Reformation; in lowercase ('protestant'), it is occasionally used in formal prose to mean a person who protests or dissents, though 'protester' is standard in modern usage.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 16th century from Middle French protestant or German Protestant, ultimately from Latin protestans, the present participle of protestari ('to declare publicly, testify, or protest'). The religious sense arose in 1529 when German princes supporting Martin Luther issued a formal 'Protestation' at the Diet of Speyer against an imperial ban on the Reformation.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.