Dispensational

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to a theological framework in which God's plan unfolds through distinct historical periods or covenants ; relating to the distribution or allotment of something
2. Of or concerning the division of history into sequential divine ages or eras ; involving the giving out or supplying of things in portions
3. Referring to a belief system that interprets God's interactions with humanity as occurring across separate historical epochs ; connected to the dispensing or apportionment of resources or benefits

Etymology: "Dispensational" is a plain combination of "dispensation" and the adjective-forming suffix "-al," meaning "relating to or characterised by dispensation." The suffix attaches to the noun to turn it into an adjective, so the word describes something connected with a dispensation. The base noun carries most of the history. "Dispensation" comes from the Latin "dispensatio," a noun from "dispensare," "to distribute or manage," and it originally referred to the management or administration of household or public affairs, including the distribution of goods and money. Over time it came to mean an exemption from a rule or a divinely ordered arrangement, and the adjective built on it took on those senses.

Synonyms: dispensationalist