disciple

[dih-sahy-puhl]

noun

1. a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower.

   a disciple of Freud.

2. Religion.

   1. one of the 12 personal followers of Christ.

   2. one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ. Luke 10:1.

   3. any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime.

3. any follower of Christ.

4. Disciple, a member of the Disciples of Christ.

verb (used with object)

discipled, discipling 

1. Archaic.,  to convert into a disciple.

2. Obsolete.,  to teach; train.

disciple

/ dɪˈsaɪpəl, dɪˈsɪpjʊlə /

noun

1. a follower of the doctrines of a teacher or a school of thought

2. one of the personal followers of Christ (including his 12 apostles) during his earthly life

Other Word Forms

• disciplelike adjective
• discipleship noun
• discipular adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disciple¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin discipulus, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + -cip(ere), combining form of capere “to take” + -ulus -ule; replacing Middle English deciple, from Anglo-French de(s)ciple; replacing Old English discipul, from Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of disciple¹

Old English discipul, from Latin discipulus pupil, from discere to learn

Synonym Study

See pupil ¹.

Example Sentences

I suspect a lot of this is fed to him by his loyal disciples — and probably some not-so-loyal adversaries.

From Salon

He found the first fairway on Saturday, though, and it set the tone for an early charge that sent thousands of already frenzied disciples into delirium.

From BBC

One woman told the investigation it was her role to recruit teenage female visitors as live-in disciples, because Joshua liked to prey on them, especially virgins.

From BBC

If it had taken a leap of faith from Ben Stokes to retain his vice-captain at number three for the first Test against India, then Pope picked the perfect time to play the grateful disciple.

From BBC

From the Apollo moon landing and Woodstock to the Stonewall riots and the Harlem Cultural Festival, there wasn’t a disciple or demographic that was not directly affected over that stretch.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adherent 
• apostle 
• cohort 
• devotee 
• enthusiast 
• fanatic 
• learner 
• pupil 
• zealot