Waldense

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin Waldensis (c. 1170), so called from Petrus Waldus, or Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyon, who founded this sect around AD 1170. For the surname, see Waldo.

Noun

Waldense (plural Waldenses)

1. (historical, Christianity) A member of a sect of dissenters from the ecclesiastical system of the Roman Catholic Church, who in the 13th century were driven by persecution to the valleys of Piedmont.

Synonyms

• Vaudois
• Waldensian

Translations

member of a sect of dissenters

• German: Waldenser (de) m
• Italian: valdese (it) m or f
• Sicilian: vaudisi m or f

References

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