Lutherian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to the German reformer Martin Luther, his teachings, or the Protestant churches that follow his theology
2. Of or pertaining to Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century religious reformer, or to the doctrines associated with him
3. Characteristic of the followers of Martin Luther or the branch of Protestant Christianity founded on his ideas

Etymology: Lutherian is a variant spelling of "Lutheran," the adjective and noun for followers of the teachings of Martin Luther, the German monk whose 1517 protest against the sale of indulgences helped launch the Protestant Reformation. The name itself was not Luther's choice. He never wanted a church named after him, and the label "Lutheran" was first used by opponents in the 1520s as a term of abuse, much as "Christian" once was in the Roman world. Supporters gradually adopted it, and it stuck. The "-ian" ending is a common suffix in English, borrowed through Latin from Greek "-ianos," used to form adjectives and nouns meaning "of or belonging to" a person or place, as in "Victorian" or "Darwinian." The Latinized form "Lutheranus" was used in sixteenth-century writing, and the spelling "Lutherian" appears as a less common English variant, but the standard form today is "Lutheran."