Lutheran
UK /ˈluːθəɹ(ə)n/ · US /ˈluθəɹən/ adjective, noun
Forms Lutherans
- adjective (Christianity) Of or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546) or his followers, or the Lutheran church. “A Lutheran understanding of the Lord’s Supper is not the same as that of other denominations.”
- noun (Christianity) A member of any of the Christian churches which identify with the theology of Martin Luther. “The split between the Lutherans and the Roman Catholics began with the Edict of Worms in 1521.”
Synonyms
Etymology
From the surname of German theologian and ecclesiastical reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) + -an. Probably immediately from Renaissance Latin Lutheranus, or German Lutheraner.
Luther is from an Old High German given name, from liut (“people”) + heri (“army”) (from Proto-Germanic *harjaz (“army; commander, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *kóryos (“war; troops”), from *ker- (“army”)).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Lutheran”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details