Etymology

Beloved Disciple

Today it means: A figure in the Gospel of John whose identity is left implicit within the text; traditionally, John the Evangelist himself. Full definition →

Ecclesiastical Latin discipulus dīlēctus
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The story

  1. Ecclesiastical Latin · calque ofdiscipulus dīlēctus
  2. English todayBeloved Disciple

Calque of Ecclesiastical Latin discipulus dīlēctus, applied as an epithet of John the Evangelist. The term is a summary of the expressions found in the Gospel itself, such as ὁ μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς (ho mathētḕs hòn ēgápa ho Iēsoûs, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.