Mithraist

1 9.9

A person who worships the ancient god Mithras and joins secret ceremonies

noun
/ˈmɪθreɪɪst/

Literature

: mitraísta

In ancient Rome, many soldiers identified as Mithraists due to the popularity of Mithraism in the army.

Examples

As a professional Roman soldier at that date, he was likely a Mithraist, but he could have been a good old-fashioned pagan.

Blog text (8)
During the festival of Mithras, Mithraists gathered to celebrate their beliefs with rituals and feasts.
The archaeological site revealed several inscriptions that indicated the presence of Mithraists in the city.

Surface Forms

Mithraist singular

Mithraists plural

Morphology

Mithraist = Mithra (transparent) = Mithra + ist

Formed from the name 'Mithra' plus the productive English suffix '-ist' meaning 'follower of' or 'adherent', so the relation is directly inferable.

Etymology

The word Mithraist comes from the name Mithra, also seen as Mithras, an ancient god whose name meant 'friend' in old Persian and Sanskrit. So a Mithraist was a person who followed that god in his mystery religion, which is why the word means a follower of Mithraism.