Dictionary

pseudomessiah en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsudoʊmɪˌsaɪə/ (General-American)
• /ˈsuːdəʊmɪˌsaɪə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek ψεύδω (pseúdō) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ēs Proto-Hellenic *-ēs Ancient Greek -ης (-ēs) Ancient Greek -ής (-ḗs) Ancient Greek ψευδής (pseudḗs)der. Middle English pseudo- English pseudo- Aramaic ܡ ܫ ܚder. Aramaic ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ (məšīḥā)bor. Hebrew מָשַׁח Biblical Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (māšîaḥ)der. Ancient Greek Μεσσῑ́ᾱς (Messī́ās)bor. Latin Messīāsbor. Middle English Messyasder. English messiah English pseudomessiah From pseudo- + messiah.

Meanings

1. A false Messiah; someone falsely claiming to be the Messiah.
   • There is evidence that he was a Sabbatean, a follower of the seventeenth-century Jewish pseudomessiah, Shabbatai Zevi. 1990, Bryon L Sherwin, In Partnership with God, page 240:
   • Ferrar did not rule as a tyrant, nor was he the pseudomessiah of a cult. 2013, Frank N. Magill, editor, The 17th and 18th Centuries: Dictionary of World Biography, page 463:
   • The reign of Elizabeth produced a small army of pseudo-Messiahs. 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 129:

Forms