What does "anathema" mean?
Anathema: An imprecation; a curse; a malediction. Finally she fled to London followed by the anathemas of both [families]. Thackeray.
Additional senses
- 2.Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority. The Jewish nation were an anathema destined to destruction. St. Paul . . . says he could wish, to save them from it, to become an anathema, and be destroyed himself. Locke. Anathema Maranatha Etym: (see 1 Cor. xvi. 22), an expression commonly considered as a highly intensified form of anathema. Maran atha is now considered as a separate sentence, meaning, "Our Lord cometh."
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00