proselyte

[ pros-uh-lahyt ]

noun

1. a person who has changed from one opinion, religious belief, sect, or the like, to another; convert.

   Synonyms: novice, neophyte

verb (used with or without object)

, pros·e·lyt·ed, pros·e·lyt·ing.

1. proselytize ( def ).

proselyte

/ ˈprɒsɪlɪˌtɪzəm; ˈprɒsɪˌlaɪt; ˌprɒsɪˈlɪtɪk /

noun

1. a person newly converted to a religious faith or sect; a convert, esp a gentile converted to Judaism

verb

1. a less common word for proselytize

Derived Forms

• proselytic, adjective
• proselytism, noun

Other Words From

• prose·lyter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of proselyte¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Late Latin prosēlytus, from Greek (Septuagint) prosḗlytos, for unattested prosḗlythos “newcomer, proselyte,” equivalent to prosēlyth- (suppletive stem of prosérchesthai “to approach”) + -os noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of proselyte¹

C14: from Church Latin prosēlytus, from Greek prosēlutos recent arrival, convert, from proserchesthai to draw near

Example Sentences

Safe havens are physical spaces, typically not well governed, that allow for extremists to organize, recruit, train, proselyte, spread propaganda and raise capital to plan attacks.

From Seattle Times

Janet Kitselman also became a proselyte for the history of Waterford, helping to create educational programming at the town’s Second Street School.

From Washington Post

Mary Frank, the artist, is his friend and fellow solar-cooking proselyte.

From The New Yorker

Christian Angermayer is an unlikely proselyte of psychedelia: The German financier didn’t drink so much as a sip of beer for the first three decades of his life.

From Scientific American

A 52-year-old mother of four whose usual definition of “excess” is a wine spritzer, Ms. Waldman may seem an unlikely proselyte for a second Age of Aquarius.

From New York Times