Proselytisers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who advocate for the adoption of a particular belief or religion
2. People who seek to convert others to their faith or ideology
3. Agents of change who actively promote their convictions to persuade others

Etymology: Proselytiser is a plural form, so the story belongs to the singular, which is an agent formed from "proselytise" plus the suffix "-er." The verb "proselytise" comes from the Greek "proselytos," a newcomer or convert, which was used in the Greek Bible for a foreigner who had adopted Judaism. Its ancestor, "proselytos," was built from "pros," meaning "towards," and "erchesthai," meaning "to come," so the original sense is literally one who has come towards. The suffix did most of its work in Latin. The Latin "-arius" marked a person connected with a trade or role, and it passed through Old French "-ier" into Middle English, where it was reshaped as "-er." English speakers then attached this familiar ending to a verb coined from the Greek root, producing a person whose job is to win converts. The result is a word that combines a Greek idea with a Latin-derived ending that English uses for countless everyday nouns, from "baker" to "teacher."

Synonyms: converters, converts, converts, missionaries, evangelists

Antonyms: dissidents, nonbelievers, rejecters, repudiators, abandoners