homoousian

H4O1M3O1O1U1S1I1A1N1
/hɒməʊˈuːzɪən/

adjective

Having the same essence or substance, especially with reference to the first and second persons of the Trinity (Father and Son).

Scrabble 15

Meanings

adjectivehomoousian (not comparable)
  1. not comparableHaving the same essence or substance, especially with reference to the first and second persons of the Trinity (Father and Son).
    1 more example

    But the more fashionable saints of the Arian times, the intrepid Athanasius, the learned Gregory Nazianzen, and the other pillars of the church, who supported with ability and success the Nicene doctrine, appeared to consider the expression of substance as if it had been synonymous with that of nature; and they ventured to illustrate their meaning, by affirming that three men, as they belong to the same common species, are consubstantial, or homoousian to each other.

    1781, Edward Gibbon, chapter XXI, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume II, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 252

    Synonyms: consubstantial

nounhomoousian (plural homoousians)

plural homoousians

  1. historicalOne of those, in the 4th century, who accepted the Nicene Creed and maintained that the Son had the same essence or substance with the Father.

    The Greek word, which was chosen to express this mysterious resemblance, bears so close an affinity to the orthodox symbol, that the profane of every age have derided the furious contests which the difference of a single diphthong excited between the Homoousians and the Homoiousians.

    1781, Edward Gibbon, chapter XXI, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume II, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 257

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveHaving the same essence or substance, especially with reference to the first and second persons of the Trinity (Father and Son).

Origin

From Ancient Greek ὁμοούσιος (homooúsios) + -an, from ὁμός (homós, “same”) + οὐσία (ousía, “essence”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

homoousian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homoousian

MLA

“homoousian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homoousian. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “homoousian,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homoousian.

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