Mahometan

[ muh-hom-i-tn ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. Muslim ( defs 1, 2 ).

Mahometan

/ məˈhɒmɪtən /

noun

1. a name formerly in Western usage but never used among Muslims for the Muslim religion

Derived Forms

• Maˈhometanism, noun

Other Words From

• Ma·homet·an·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mahometan¹

First recorded in 1520–30; Mahomet + -an

Example Sentences

Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word “Jesus Christ,” so that it should read “departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion” the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it’s protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination.

From Washington Post

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson’s friend Senator Richard Henry Lee expressed both of their opinions when he asserted in Congress, referring to Muslims and Hindus, that “true freedom embraces the Mahometan and the Gentoo as well as the Christian religion.”

From New York Times

He wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, passed in 1786, which protected “the Jew and the gentile, the Christian and the Mahometan.”

From The New Yorker

“Thomas Jefferson explained that the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom he wrote was designed to protect all faiths—and I’m quoting Thomas Jefferson now—‘the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mahometan,’ ” Obama said.

From The New Yorker

It contains a provision, Article 11, stating bluntly, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

From Salon