a member of any of various 16th-century Protestant movements that rejected infant baptism, insisted that adults be rebaptized, and sought to establish Christian communism
2.
a member of a later Protestant sect holding the same doctrines, esp with regard to baptism
adjective
3.
of or relating to these movements or sects or their doctrines
Derived forms
Anabaptism (ˌAnaˈbaptism)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Ecclesiastical Latin anabaptista, from anabaptīzāre to baptize again, from Late Greek anabaptizein; see ana-, baptize
Anabaptist in American English
(ˌænəˈbæptɪst)
noun
1.
a member of a radical 16th-cent. sect of the Reformation originating in Switzerland, often persecuted because they opposed the taking of oaths, infant baptism, military service, and the holding of public office
adjective
2.
of this sect
Derived forms
Anabaptism (ˌAnaˈbapˌtism)
noun
Word origin
ModL anabaptista < LL(Ec) anabaptismus < Gr(Ec) anabaptismos, second baptism < anabaptizein < ana-, again + baptizein, baptize