apostle

noun

apos·​tle ə-ˈpä-səl How to pronounce apostle (audio)
1
: one sent on a mission: such as
a
: one of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach the gospel and made up especially of Christ's 12 original disciples and Paul
b
: the first prominent Christian missionary to a region or group
St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany
2
a
: a person who initiates a great moral reform or who first advocates an important belief or system
b
: an ardent supporter : adherent
apostles of high technology
3
: the highest ecclesiastical official in some church organizations
4
: one of a Mormon administrative council of 12 men
apostleship noun

Examples of apostle in a Sentence

a fervent apostle of universal health care
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Every Pope Listed in Order There have been 266 popes in the history of the Catholic Church, with the first one, Peter, leader of the apostles, heading the church starting in 32 A.D. The complete list of popes known to the church is as follows: 1. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025 And some families go as far as cooking 12 fish dishes in honor of the apostles. Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024 During the dinner, Jesus revealed that one of the apostles would betray him and introduced the practice of the Eucharist. Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 25 Nov. 2024 There was speculation that the scene was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting The Last Supper, depicting Jesus’s last meal with the 12 apostles, which in turn sparked claims that the tableau was an insult to the Christian faith. Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for apostle

Word History

Etymology

Middle English apostel, apostle, postel, in part going back to Old English apostol, in part borrowed from Anglo-French apostle, apostoile, appostre, both borrowed from Late Latin apostolus "ambassador, Apostle (of the New Testament)," borrowed from Greek apóstolos "messenger, envoy, (Septuagint) messenger from God, (New Testament) Apostle," noun derivative of apostéllein "to send off or away, dispatch," from apo- apo- + stéllein "to set in order, equip, prepare for a journey, send," going back to Indo-European *stel- "put up, prepare," whence also Old Church Slavic posteljǫ, postĭlati "to spread out," Albanian shtiell "wind up, reel up, collect" (from *stel-n-) and perhaps Old Prussian stallīt "to stand," Armenian stełcanem, (aorist) stełci "prepare, create" (with -c- of uncertain origin)

Note: Along with Attic-Ionic stéllein, Greek forms in Lesbian dialect and forms attested by the grammarian Hesychius that appear to be Aeolic show a variant spel-/spol-. This has led to the conjecture of a distinct root *skwel- "set in order" alongside *stel- "send"; however, the evidence for *skwel- outside Greek is exiguous. Germanic *stal(l)jan- "to fix, set, place" (whence Old English stellan, Old Saxon stellian, Old High German stellen) could be an outcome of *stel-, though it is usually taken as denominal from *stalla- "stand, stall, stable" (see stall entry 1).

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of apostle was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Apostle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apostle. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

apostle

noun
apos·​tle ə-ˈpäs-əl How to pronounce apostle (audio)
1
a
: one of a group made up of Christ's twelve original disciples and Paul
b
: the first Christian missionary to a region
2
a
: the person who first puts forward an important belief or starts a great reform
b
: a loyal supporter : adherent
apostleship noun
Etymology

Middle English apostle "teacher sent out by Christ," derived from Greek apostolos "one sent on a mission"

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