Sebastianism

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noun

The folkloric belief that King Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578) will return from the dead to lead the Portuguese or Brazilian people as a messiah.

OriginPortuguese sebastianismo →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounSebastianism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe folkloric belief that King Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578) will return from the dead to lead the Portuguese or Brazilian people as a messiah.

    Sebastianism kept alive the spirit of independence in a country now brought under the sovereignty of the Spanish Crown.

    1992, Edwin Williamson, The Penguin history of Latin America, London; New York: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 72

Origin

  1. Portuguesesebastianismo
  2. EnglishSebastianism

Borrowed from Portuguese sebastianismo. By surface analysis, Sebastian + ism.

More words from Portuguese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Portuguese sebastianismo
  • sebastianismobelief that King Sebastian of Portugal will return to lead the Portuguese or Brazilian people
Cite this entry
APA

Sebastianism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sebastianism

MLA

“Sebastianism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sebastianism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sebastianism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sebastianism.

Source: Sebastianism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.