Meanings
- Lutheran (of or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther or its followers)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Combination of "Evangelical", which was Martin Luther's adjectival term for his own theology and "Lutheran", which was originally a derogatory adjectival term, soon a noun with repeated usage, used to describe his followers' endorsement of Luther. Later, when the movement split into fractions, the term "Evangelical Lutheran" came to mean the followers of Luther's original teaching. From there it has gradually been shortened back to "Lutheran" as general descriptor for Luther's latter followers, but "Evangelical Lutheran" is still widely used by certain Lutheran church denominations.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish evankelis-luterilainen, luterilainen
- evankelis-luterilainenof or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther or its followers
- luterilainenof or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther or its followers
Swedish evangelisk-luthersk
- evangelisk-lutherskof or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther or its followers
Cite this entry
Evangelical Lutheran. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Evangelical%20Lutheran
“Evangelical Lutheran.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Evangelical%20Lutheran. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Evangelical Lutheran,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Evangelical%20Lutheran.
Source: Evangelical Lutheran on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.