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papist

papist

3 9.9
A person who follows the Roman Catholic Church, often used as an insult
  • noun
  • /ˈpeɪpɪst/
  • Slur
translation icon : papista
  • Everyone at court has a Papist somewhere in their family.

But it was just funny that I think when he looked at me, he saw a leprechaun who was trying to a Pope loving, licking Papist.

Examples

  • "And the Papists seek salvation in a like manner," adding all manner of requirements to the true law.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Mother would have called him a Papist, though.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • May Anna, who was a papist herself, never would go to him for confession.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Are we to abide a papist and a woman both?

  • Half the town is saying you're a papist.

  • I die neither atheist nor papist, and in that faith to which I was born, I bid you all to pray for me.

  • In dismay, he declared that "a Papist or an Infidel was as eligible" as Christians to seek and hold office.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Protestants must be on the alert and guard against the assaults of papists on our free institutions.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Old fears about the immigrants' proclivity for radical politics or blind adherence to papist superstitions persisted as well.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Many people in the town still hold prejudices against Papists and their loyalty to the pope.

Synonyms

ultramontanist
vspapist
  • Formal
9.9

A person who supports the Pope having strong power over local church leaders

labels someone offensively as a Roman Catholic ardent supporter of papal power

Surface Forms

papist singular
papists plural

Morphology

papist = pope (semi-transparent) = pap + ist

The word is built with the familiar agentive suffix -ist from a pope-related base, but the modern pejorative denominational label is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

Papist comes from papa, a word meaning 'father', and the same root is in pope, while the ending -ist means 'follower'. So a papist is someone who follows the pope, and the word has often been used as an insult for Roman Catholics.