Salvationist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A member of the Salvation Army or someone who believes that salvation from sin is possible through faith and good works
2. a person who advocates for or belongs to a religious movement emphasizing deliverance from sin through spiritual conversion and charitable action
3. one who champions the doctrine that redemption from moral corruption is achievable via faith combined with benevolent deeds and service

Etymology: The Salvation Army was founded in London in 1865 by William Booth, a former Methodist minister, and the word "salvationist" grew out of that movement's name. Its real roots are older and more ordinary. "Salvation" traces back to Latin "salvus," meaning "safe" or "whole," the same root that gives English "salve" and "salvage." Through a Latin noun, "salvatio," the word passed into Old French as "salvacion" and then into Middle English as "savacioun," before settling into modern "salvation." The ending is the part that makes the word a recognisable type of person-noun. The suffix "-ist" comes from Greek, where it marked someone who practises or follows something, and it reached English through Latin and French. Attaching it to "salvation" produces a name for someone devoted to salvation as a cause or belief. The word is therefore a plain compound of an inherited noun and a long-established suffix, with its meaning fixed by the Army it came to describe.

Synonyms: redeemer, rescuer, savior