Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of a Western Christian church whose faith and practice are founded on the principles of the Reformation, especially in the acceptance of the Bible as the sole source of revelation, in justification by faith alone, and in the universal priesthood of all the believers.
  • noun A member of a Western Christian church adhering to the theologies of Luther, Calvin, or Zwingli.
  • noun One of the German princes or cities that supported the doctrines of Luther and protested against the decision of the second Diet of Speyer (1529) to enforce the Edict of Worms (1521) and deny toleration to Lutherans.
  • noun One who makes a declaration or avowal.
  • adjective Of or relating to Protestants or Protestantism.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Protesting; making a protest.
  • [capitalized] Of or pertaining to Protestants or their doctrines or forms of religion.
  • noun One who protests; one who makes protestation.
  • noun [capitalized] A member or an adherent of one of those Christian bodies which are descended from the Reformation of the sixteenth century: in general language, opposed to Roman Catholic and Greek.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Making a protest; protesting.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to the faith and practice of those Christians who reject the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • noun One who protests; -- originally applied to those who adhered to Luther, and protested against, or made a solemn declaration of dissent from, a decree of the Emperor Charles V. and the Diet of Spires, in 1529, against the Reformers, and appealed to a general council; -- now used in a popular sense to designate any Christian who does not belong to the Roman Catholic or the Greek Church.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Christianity Any of several denominations of Christianity that separated from the Roman Catholic Church based on theological or political differences during the Reformation.
  • proper noun Christianity Someone who is a member of such a denomination.
  • proper noun Christianity A modern Christian denomination not belonging to the Catholic or Orthodox traditions.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an adherent of Protestantism
  • noun the Protestant churches and denominations collectively
  • adjective of or relating to Protestants or Protestantism
  • adjective protesting

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from German, from Latin prōtestāns, prōtestant-, present participle of prōtestārī, to protest; see protest.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French protestant.

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Examples

  • If so, I would expect to see it reflected in other, related usages, such as bible for Bible, or protestant for Protestant.

    Archive 2007-04-01 DC 2007

  • If so, I would expect to see it reflected in other, related usages, such as bible for Bible, or protestant for Protestant.

    On Christian vs christian DC 2007

  • It was to protect the protestant minority of Lower Canada that this system, Catholic in Ontario, Protestant in Quebec, was adopted on

    Catholic Problems in Western Canada George Thomas Daly 1914

  • There must still be, according to the "Agenda, annuaire protestant", more than 150 in existence, but the majority have only a restricted circulation, and, excepting the "Bulletin historique et littéraire de la société de l'histoire du protestantisme français" (1852), are practically without readers outside of the Protestant world.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 7: Gregory XII-Infallability 1840-1916 1913

  • Although we cannot say that Scotland is a more PROTESTANT nation than it was in past days, still religious differences, and strong prejudices, seem at the present time to draw a more decided line of separation between the priest and his Protestant countrymen.

    Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character Ramsay, Edward B 1874

  • Protestant temple, which continues to be frequented by the inhabitants; the _Annuaire Protestant_ for 1868-70, stating the

    The Huguenots in France Samuel Smiles 1858

  • Protestant or Reformed: the term Protestant lays more stress on antagonism to Rome; the term Reformed emphasizes adherence to any of the Reformers.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913

  • You hold to the Trinitarian doctrine only because the Catholic Church told you to, not because you and every other Protestant is a brilliant scriptural scholar and mystic able to discern the Truth for himself.

    Archive 2007-06-01 2007

  • You hold to the Trinitarian doctrine only because the Catholic Church told you to, not because you and every other Protestant is a brilliant scriptural scholar and mystic able to discern the Truth for himself.

    A Response to Mir 2007

  • The word Protestant is also made from two Latin words, pro, "publicly," and testari, "to bear witness."

    An Island Story: A History of England for Boys and Girls Henrietta Elizabeth 1920

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