Anathemas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A formal curse or condemnation, particularly one that results in exclusion from a religious community
2. a strong denunciation or denunciative expression directed at someone or something
3. an object or person that is intensely loathed or regarded with disdain by an individual or group

Etymology: The Greek original was a neutral word. "Anathema" came from "anatithenai," meaning "to set up" or "dedicate," and in classical Greek an "anathema" was an object offered to a god and hung in a temple. Something set apart for the gods was removed from ordinary human use, and that is where the darker sense began. The shift to "accursed" came through Hebrew. The Greek word was used to translate the Hebrew "herem," a term for things devoted to God, often through destruction. Because such devoted things were set apart and not to be touched, the Greek sense slid toward condemnation, and Ecclesiastical writers used it for people and things under church condemnation. The plural "anathemas" is simply the regular English plural of the noun, used for several separate denunciations or curses. It is a plain formation with no special history of its own.

Synonyms: curses, condemnations, excommunications

Antonyms: blessings, approvals