anathema
noun
Stephen Jay Gould
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Word History of Anathema
The Greek root of anathema originally meant simply “a thing devoted” or “an offering,” and in the Old Testament it could refer to either revered objects or objects representing destruction brought about in the name of the Lord, such as the weapons of an enemy. Since the enemy’s objects therefore became symbols of what was reviled or unholy, the neutral meaning of “a thing devoted” became “a thing devoted to evil” or “curse.”
In Latin, it could refer to both an excommunication and the person who has been excommunicated.
In the early Church, anathema was used interchangeably with excommunication and to refer to unrepentant heretics. It then came to mean the severest form of excommunication in official church writings. When the authority of Rome was split in the Great Schism between Eastern and Western churches in 1054, an anathema was issued by Rome against the Eastern Patriarch who then issued another one against the cardinal who delivered it.
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Examples of anathema in a Sentence
Edmund White, New York Review of Books, 12 Feb. 2009
While everything pointed to an immense flood, Bretz knew such a notion would be anathema to his fellow geologists. In part that was because the quantity of water needed for such a flood would exceed the flow of all the world's modern rivers combined.
—Richard Lovett, New Scientist, 21-27 Apr. 2007
Big Jeff was devoted to Purcell. He haunted his room and patiently endured his abuse just to sit in the corner and watch him shave or do push-ups or dress for dinner, and listen to him pronounce his opinions and anathemas.
—Tobias Wolff, Old School, 2003
For all the artistic wonders it has preserved, the Holy Mountain is not a museum, and the idea of playing host to sightseers is anathema to the monks. Male visitors of all faiths are welcome, but they come as pilgrims, not tourists, and only 110 "residence permits" are issued each day by patristic officials in Ouranoupolis.
—Nicholas Basbanes, Smithsonian, August 1999
a politician who is anathema to conservatives
ideas that are an anathema to me
Stephen L. Carter, The Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2025
Both men have become anathema, and their reflective exploits are being received as attempts to fortify with past glory.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2024
At first blush, Walliser’s background seems anathema to how many people perceive the modern Bentley brand.
—Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 23 Nov. 2024
That’s prompting both candidates to take stances that would have once been anathema to their bases, scrambling longtime assumptions about what each party stands for.
—Steve Peoples, The Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Anathema.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anathema. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.
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anathema
noun
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