Thursday, November 02, 2006

Word of the Day: Co-religionist

I just saw the word co-religionist used in a Jewschool post, and it seemed so anachronistic. Don't get me wrong, I love the word, but it brings to mind post-WWII era arguments about race and religion. Just like referring to someone as a "member of the tribe." Oh wait, I do that too.

According to the OED a correligionist is: "An adherent of the same religion;" the first documented use of the word was in 1842.

4 comments:

Annie said...

Sad for me. Oh well.

Any particular reason?

Anonymous said...

Benjamin J. Cooper,

While I understand your "life of the mind" thing, the Hittites lived well over 1500 years ago. More like 3500. Check ancient facts with Harley or with your girlfriend first.

Annie said...

Ben- If I see any Hittites, you can bet your butt that I will be whacking them with bronze implements.

Anonymous said...

I love "Jewbiquitous," it's a wonderful word, and I love the word "Jewschool" too... Just happened upon you, working on a French-English translation. Co-religionist (coréligionnaire) is a no-nonsense word in French, without even the faintest whiff of the, if I may be so bold, jewbiquitous anti-semitism. (It's being used in this text talking about Christians, by the way):