Swedenborg

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An 18th-century Swedish philosopher, theologian, and mystic who claimed direct spiritual visions and founded a movement emphasizing inner enlightenment and divine communication
2. A visionary Swedish thinker of the 1700s known for his theological writings, mystical experiences, and the religious tradition that developed from his teachings
3. The Swedish spiritual philosopher whose accounts of heavenly journeys and theological doctrines inspired a new Christian movement focused on mystical revelation and divine love

Etymology: Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, engineer and mystic who, in the 1740s and 1750s, claimed to have spiritual visions of heaven, hell and the afterlife. The word "Swedenborg" in English is simply his surname, and it has passed into use as a term for his followers and his ideas, most often in the phrase "Swedenborgian," which describes the Church of the New Jerusalem and related movements that grew from his writings. The English form comes straight from his Swedish name, as the source records, so the word is a proper noun that was never adapted into a common word with a different meaning. Its adjectival and noun uses follow the usual pattern for names of religious founders, where a person's name becomes a label for a doctrine or a community.