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evangelist

 - 4 dictionary results

e⋅van⋅ge⋅list

[i-van-juh-list]
–noun
1. a Protestant minister or layperson who serves as an itinerant or special preacher, esp. a revivalist.
2. a preacher of the gospel.
3. (initial capital letter) any of the writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the four Gospels.
4. (in the primitive church) a person who first brought the gospel to a city or region.
5. (initial capital letter) Mormon Church. a patriarch.
6. a person marked by evangelical enthusiasm for or support of any cause.

Origin:
1125–75; ME evangeliste < L evangelista < Gk euangelists. See evangel 1 , -ist
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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e·van·gel·ist   (ĭ-vān'jə-lĭst)   
n.  
  1. often Evangelist Any one of the authors of the four New Testament gospel books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

  2. One who practices evangelism, especially a Protestant preacher or missionary.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

evangelist 
c.1175, "Matthew, Mark, Luke or John," from L.L. evangelista, from Gk. evangelistes "preacher of the gospel," lit. "bringer of good news," from evangelizesthai "bring good news," from eu- "good" + angellein "announce," from angelos "messenger." In early Gk. Christian texts, the word was used of the four supposed authors of the narrative gospels. Meaning "itinerant preacher" was another early Church usage, revived in M.E. (1382). Evangelical as a school or branch of Protestantism is from 1747.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Evangelist

a "publisher of glad tidings;" a missionary preacher of the gospel (Eph. 4:11). This title is applied to Philip (Acts 21:8), who appears to have gone from city to city preaching the word (8:4, 40). Judging from the case of Philip, evangelists had neither the authority of an apostle, nor the gift of prophecy, nor the responsibility of pastoral supervision over a portion of the flock. They were itinerant preachers, having it as their special function to carry the gospel to places where it was previously unknown. The writers of the four Gospels are known as the Evangelists.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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