Adoptionist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A proponent of a theological stance that posits Jesus was made divine through adoption rather than being inherently so from the outset
2. An individual who advocates for the belief that Jesus attained His status as the Son of God through a chosen event rather than through His innate nature
3. A supporter of the perspective that views the elevation of Jesus to divine status as an event of selection rather than an intrinsic attribute from birth

Etymology: Adoptionism is the name given to a view within early Christian debate that Jesus was adopted as God's son, rather than being God's son by nature from birth. The word "adoptionist" builds on the English noun "adoption," which came into the language from Latin "adoptio," and adds the suffix "-ist," meaning someone who holds a belief or follows a practice. The same suffix turns "Calvin" into "Calvinist" and "Marx" into "Marxist." The suffix has a long ancestry of its own. It traces back through Latin "-ista" and Old French "-iste," and before that to the Greek "-istēs," a marker for people who practise or support something. English took it in through Middle English, so the ending is far older in the language than most of the modern words that wear it.