evangelist

Definition

An itinerant or special preacher, especially a revivalist, who conducts services in different cities or locations, now often televised.

Etymology

From Old French evangeliste, equivalent to evangel + -ist, from ecclesiastical Latin evangelista, from ecclesiastical Ancient Greek εὐαγγελιστής (euangelistḗs, “bringer of good news”), from εὐαγγελίζεσθαι (euangelízesthai, “to evangelize”), from εὐάγγελος (euángelos, “bringing good news”), from εὖ (eû, “well”) + ἀγγέλλειν (angéllein, “to announce”).

Example Sentences

• "Booth, William (1829-1912) English evangelist; founder and first general of the Salvation Army ... his subordinates being expected to give him unquestioning obedience."
• "Yet in the spreading consumer market of the mid-1700s, his renditions competed with others offering a far different account of the evangelist and his message. The famous artist William Hogarth mocked Whitefield in two engravings presenting the revivalist as a religious fanatic who held sway over the superstitious lower orders."
• "The film implies that the evangelist, as a type, is a fanatic, a sanctimonious prig, and ultimately a hypocrite."

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