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Nazarite

Nazarite

1 9.9
A person who makes a religious vow to God to avoid wine and not cut hair
  • noun
  • /ˈnæzəˌraɪt/
: nazareo
  • Now, having taken the Nazarite vow, Samson was put aside for God.

Examples

  • To be a Nazarite, one must take a special vow that includes not cutting their hair and avoiding certain foods.

  • Leetha Purl took her religion seriously, considering herself a female Nazarite.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Yes, to smell pork, to eat of the habitation which your prophet the Nazarite conjured the devil into.

  • Samson was known as a Nazarite because he dedicated his life to serving God and followed strict abstinence.

  • Leetha felt a strong calling and decided to become a Nazarite to deepen her religious commitment.

Synonyms

Nazirite
vsNazarite
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person in ancient Israel who vowed to avoid wine, not cut hair, and not touch dead bodies

is a general vow of abstinence and devotion rather than listing specific rules
nazir
vsNazarite
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person in ancient Israel who vowed not to drink wine and not to cut their hair

is broader, describing a religious vow of abstinence without all ritual details

Surface Forms

Nazarite singular
Nazarites plural

Morphology

Nazarite = nazir + ite

Although formed with the recognizable suffix '-ite' (denoting a follower/member), the root 'nazir' is a non‑English biblical/foreign morpheme unfamiliar to typical learners, so the meaning is not derivable from known English components.

Etymology

Nazarite comes from the Hebrew word nazir, which means 'set apart'. A Nazarite was a person who made a special 'vow' to be set apart for God, often avoiding wine and not cutting their hair, so the word now means someone with strict religious dedication.