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2003-10-31 21:21:30 ET 5 entries found for Gnostic. Gnos·tic adj. gnostic Of, relating to, or possessing intellectual or spiritual knowledge. Of or relating to Gnosticism. n. A believer in Gnosticism. ----------------------------------------------------------- [Late Latin Gnsticus, a Gnostic, from Late Greek Gnstikos, from Greek gnstikos, concerning knowledge, from gnsis, knowledge. See gnosis.] Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Gnostic \Gnos"tic\, a. 1. Knowing; wise; shrewd. [Old Slang] I said you were a gnostic fellow. --Sir W. Scott. 2. (Eccl. Hist.) Of or pertaining to Gnosticism or its adherents; as, the Gnostic heresy. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. Gnostic \Gnos"tic\, n. [L. gnosticus, Gr. ? good at knowing, sagacious; as a n., man that claims to have a deeper wisdom, fr. gignw`skein to know: cf. F. gnostique. See Know.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of the so-called philosophers in the first ages of Christianity, who claimed a true philosophical interpretation of the Christian religion. Their system combined Oriental theology and Greek philosophy with the doctrines of Christianity. They held that all natures, intelligible, intellectual, and material, are derived from the Deity by successive emanations, which they called Eons. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. Gnostic adj 1: of or relating to Gnosticism; "Gnostic writings" [syn: Gnostic] 2: possessing intellectual or esoteric knowledge of spiritual things [ant: agnostic] n : an advocate of gnosticism |
