apostle

noun

apos·​tle ə-ˈpä-səl How to pronounce apostle (audio)
1
: one sent on a mission: such as
a
: one of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach the gospel and made up especially of Christ's 12 original disciples and Paul
b
: the first prominent Christian missionary to a region or group
St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany
2
a
: a person who initiates a great moral reform or who first advocates an important belief or system
b
: an ardent supporter : adherent
apostles of high technology
3
: the highest ecclesiastical official in some church organizations
4
: one of a Mormon administrative council of 12 men
apostleship noun

Examples of apostle in a Sentence

a fervent apostle of universal health care
Recent Examples on the Web This is the final day of Lent for Christians and focuses on the remembrance of both the foot washing and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the apostles. Chris Sims, The Courier-Journal, 14 Feb. 2024 The Bible speaks of Simon the Sorcerer, another false messiah that tried to buy his way into the apostles. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 15 Jan. 2024 Just to the left of center Dürer painted his own portrait: an isolated figure in a recognizably German landscape, poised between the apostles looking up in awe and the Madonna floating above. Jenny Uglow, The New York Review of Books, 1 Feb. 2024 The ultimate apostle of payback, Putin eventually settled his score with Prigozhin, who was killed in a suspicious plane crash two months to the day after starting his rebellion. William J. Burns, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2024 Sobel is an ardent apostle of the power of worms to help humanity with its mounting waste problems. Ashley Miznazi, Orlando Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2024 There, Clarence runs into his twin brother, the apostle Thomas (also played by Stanfield), who rejects his plea to join the fraternal squad. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Jan. 2024 When there’s word of a rising Messiah and His apostles, Clarence wants to carve put his own plan to a divine life. Shelby Stewart, Essence, 18 Dec. 2023 Even after a couple of millennia, Cleopatra in her split skirts was still an affront to the apostles of Roman Catholic life. Andrew O’Hagan, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'apostle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English apostel, apostle, postel, in part going back to Old English apostol, in part borrowed from Anglo-French apostle, apostoile, appostre, both borrowed from Late Latin apostolus "ambassador, Apostle (of the New Testament)," borrowed from Greek apóstolos "messenger, envoy, (Septuagint) messenger from God, (New Testament) Apostle," noun derivative of apostéllein "to send off or away, dispatch," from apo- apo- + stéllein "to set in order, equip, prepare for a journey, send," going back to Indo-European *stel- "put up, prepare," whence also Old Church Slavic posteljǫ, postĭlati "to spread out," Albanian shtiell "wind up, reel up, collect" (from *stel-n-) and perhaps Old Prussian stallīt "to stand," Armenian stełcanem, (aorist) stełci "prepare, create" (with -c- of uncertain origin)

Note: Along with Attic-Ionic stéllein, Greek forms in Lesbian dialect and forms attested by the grammarian Hesychius that appear to be Aeolic show a variant spel-/spol-. This has led to the conjecture of a distinct root *skwel- "set in order" alongside *stel- "send"; however, the evidence for *skwel- outside Greek is exiguous. Germanic *stal(l)jan- "to fix, set, place" (whence Old English stellan, Old Saxon stellian, Old High German stellen) could be an outcome of *stel-, though it is usually taken as denominal from *stalla- "stand, stall, stable" (see stall entry 1).

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of apostle was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near apostle

Cite this Entry

“Apostle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apostle. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

apostle

noun
apos·​tle ə-ˈpäs-əl How to pronounce apostle (audio)
1
a
: one of a group made up of Christ's twelve original disciples and Paul
b
: the first Christian missionary to a region
2
a
: the person who first puts forward an important belief or starts a great reform
b
: a loyal supporter : adherent
apostleship noun
Etymology

Middle English apostle "teacher sent out by Christ," derived from Greek apostolos "one sent on a mission"

More from Merriam-Webster on apostle

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