antilegomena

[ an-ti-luh-gom-uh-nuh ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. a group of books in the New Testament, generally held to be uncanonical by the early church.

Word History and Origins

Origin of antilegomena¹

1840–50; < Greek: things spoken against, neuter plural of antilegómenos (passive present participle of antilégein to speak against), equivalent to anti- anti- + lego- speak + -menos passive present participle suffix

Example Sentences

Antilegomena, an-ti-leg-om′en-a, n.pl. a term applied to those books of the New Testament not at first accepted by the whole Christian Church, but ultimately admitted into the Canon—the seven books of 2 Peter, James, Jude, Hebrews, 2 and 3 John, and the Apocalypse.—The other books were called Homologoumena, 'agreed to.'

From Project Gutenberg

Deuterocanonical, dū′tėr-o-ka-non′ik-al, adj. pertaining to a second canon of inferior authority—the O. T. Apocrypha and the N. T. Antilegomena.

From Project Gutenberg

Works which for a long period were classed amongst the Antilegomena, or disputed books, and which only slowly acquired authority as, in the lapse of time, it became more difficult to examine their claims, could not do much to establish the reality of miracles.

From Project Gutenberg

Books of the third and lowest authority, i.e., the Jewish Hagiographa and the seven Antilegomena epistles of the New Testament.

From Project Gutenberg

Luther made important distinctions between the canonical books;387 and Carlstadt put the Antilegomena of the New Testament on a par with the Hagiographa of the Old.

From Project Gutenberg