Anathema \A*nath"e*ma\, n.; pl. Anathemas. [L. anath[e^]ma,
fr. Gr. ? anything devoted, esp. to evil, a curse; also L.
anath[=e]ma, fr. Gr. ? a votive offering; all fr. ? to set up
as a votive gift, dedicate; ? up + ? to set. See Thesis.]
1. A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by
ecclesiastical authority, and accompanied by
excommunication. Hence: Denunciation of anything as
accursed.
[1913 Webster]
[They] denounce anathemas against unbelievers.
--Priestley.
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2. An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.
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Finally she fled to London followed by the anathemas
of both [families]. --Thackeray.
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3. Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by
ecclesiastical authority.
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The Jewish nation were an anathema destined to
destruction. St. Paul . . . says he could wish, to
save them from it, to become an anathema, and be
destroyed himself. --Locke.
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Anathema Maranatha(see --1 Cor. xvi. 22), an expression
commonly considered as a highly intensified form of
anathema. Maran atha is now considered as a separate
sentence, meaning, "Our Lord cometh."
[1913 Webster] Anathematic
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
anathema
n 1: a detested person; "he is an anathema to me" [syn: bete
noire]
2: a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication
WordNet (r) 2.0
51 Moby Thesaurus words for "anathema":
abhorrence, abomination, antipathy, arraignment, aversion, ban,
bete noire, blame, blasphemy, bugbear, castigation, censure,
commination, condemnation, curse, damnation, decrial, denouncement,
denunciation, detestation, evil eye, excommunication, excoriation,
execration, flaying, fulmination, fustigation, hate, hex,
impeachment, imprecation, indictment, leper, malediction, malison,
malocchio, outcast, pariah, peeve, pet peeve, phobia, pillorying,
proscription, reprehension, reprobation, reproof, skinning alive,
stricture, thundering, untouchable, whammy
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
Anathema
anything laid up or suspended; hence anything laid up in a
temple or set apart as sacred. In this sense the form of the
word is _anath(ee)ma_, once in plural used in the Greek New
Testament, in Luke 21:5, where it is rendered "gifts." In the
LXX. the form _anathema_ is generally used as the rendering of
the Hebrew word _herem_, derived from a verb which means (1) to
consecrate or devote; and (2) to exterminate. Any object so
devoted to the Lord could not be redeemed (Num. 18:14; Lev.
27:28, 29); and hence the idea of exterminating connected with
the word. The Hebrew verb (haram) is frequently used of the
extermination of idolatrous nations. It had a wide range of
application. The _anathema_ or _herem_ was a person or thing
irrevocably devoted to God (Lev. 27:21, 28); and "none devoted
shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death" (27:29). The
word therefore carried the idea of devoted to destruction (Num.
21:2, 3; Josh. 6:17); and hence generally it meant a thing
accursed. In Deut. 7:26 an idol is called a _herem_ =
_anathema_, a thing accursed.
In the New Testament this word always implies execration. In
some cases an individual denounces an anathema on himself unless
certain conditions are fulfilled (Acts 23:12, 14, 21). "To call
Jesus accursed" [anathema] (1 Cor. 12:3) is to pronounce him
execrated or accursed. If any one preached another gospel, the
apostle says, "let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:8, 9); i.e., let his
conduct in so doing be accounted accursed.
In Rom. 9:3, the expression "accursed" (anathema) from Christ,
i.e., excluded from fellowship or alliance with Christ, has
occasioned much difficulty. The apostle here does not speak of
his wish as a possible thing. It is simply a vehement expression
of feeling, showing how strong was his desire for the salvation
of his people.
The anathema in 1 Cor. 16:22 denotes simply that they who love
not the Lord are rightly objects of loathing and execration to
all holy beings; they are guilty of a crime that merits the
severest condemnation; they are exposed to the just sentence of
"everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord."
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Anathema, separated; set apart
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's)
ANATHEMA, eccl. law. A punishment by which a person is separate from, the
body of the church, and forbidden all intercourse with the faithful: it
differs from excommunication, which simply forbids the person
excommunicated, from going into the church and communicating with the
faithful. Gal. 1. 8, 9.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
anathema maranatha, anathema sit, bete noire
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