Puritan

Puritan
Puritan Pu"ri*tan, n. [From {Purity}.] 1. (Eccl. Hist.) One who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth and the first two Stuarts, opposed traditional and formal usages, and advocated simpler forms of faith and worship than those established by law; -- originally, a term of reproach. The Puritans formed the bulk of the early population of New England. [1913 Webster]

Note: The Puritans were afterward distinguished as Political Puritans, Doctrinal Puritans, and Puritans in Discipline. --Hume. [1913 Webster]

2. One who is scrupulous and strict in his religious life; -- often used reproachfully or in contempt; one who has overstrict notions. [1913 Webster]

She would make a puritan of the devil. --Shak. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • puritan — PURITÁN, Ă, puritani, e, s.m. şi f., adj. 1. s.m. şi f. Adept al puritanismului; p. ext. persoană care practică sau afişează o moralitate foarte severă. 2. adj. Care aparţine puritanismului, privitor la puritanism; p. ext. care profesează sau… …   Dicționar Român

  • puritan — ► NOUN 1) (Puritan) a member of a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. 2) a person with censorious moral beliefs, especially about self indulgence and sex. ► ADJECTIVE… …   English terms dictionary

  • Puritan — 1560s, opponent of Anglican hierarchy, later applied opprobriously to person in Church of England who seeks further reformation (1570s), probably from PURITY (Cf. purity). What [William] Perkins, and the whole Puritan movement after him, sought… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Puritan — Pu ri*tan, a. Of or pertaining to the Puritans; resembling, or characteristic of, the Puritans. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Puritan — [pyoor′i tən] n. [< LL puritas (see PURITY) + AN] 1. any member of a Protestant group in England and the American colonies that in the 16th and 17th cent., wanted to make the Church of England simpler in its services and stricter about morals… …   English World dictionary

  • Puritan — A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more purity of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far… …   Wikipedia

  • puritan — [[t]pjʊ͟ərɪt(ə)n[/t]] puritans 1) N COUNT (disapproval) You describe someone as a puritan when they live according to strict moral or religious principles, especially when they disapprove of physical pleasures. Bykov had forgotten that Malinin… …   English dictionary

  • puritan — noun (C) 1 someone who has very strict moral standards and thinks that pleasure is unnecessary or wrong 2 Puritan a member of a Protestant religious group in the 16th and 17th centuries, who wanted to make religion simpler puritan also Puritan… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • puritan — pu|ri|tan [ˈpjuərıtən US ˈpjur ] n [Date: 1500 1600; : Late Latin; Origin: puritas purity , from Latin purus; PURE] 1.) someone with strict moral views who thinks that pleasure is unnecessary and wrong 2.) Puritan a member of a Protestant… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • puritan — [ pjʊərɪt(ə)n] noun 1》 (Puritan) a member of a group of English Protestants who regarded the Reformation of the Church under Elizabeth I as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. 2》 a person with censorious moral beliefs …   English new terms dictionary

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