nullifidian

English

Etymology

From Latin nūllus (“not any”) + fidēs (“faith”) + -ian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌnʌl.əˈfɪd.i.ən/, /nul-/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

nullifidian (plural nullifidians)

1. (archaic) A sceptic; an atheist or unbeliever.
   • 1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter IV, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 56:

     [...] Celia was no longer the eternal cherub, but a thorn in her spirit, a pink-and-white nullifidian, worse than any discouraging presence in the 'Pilgrim's Progress.'

   • 1892, George Gissing, Born in Exile:

     A man may be content to remain a nullifidian; women cannot rest at that stage. They demand the spiritual significance of everything.

Adjective

nullifidian

1. Of no faith or religion; not trusting to faith for salvation.

Antonyms

• solifidian

References

• “nullifidian”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.