disciple

See also: Disciple

English

Etymology

From Middle English disciple, discipul, from Old English discipul m (“disciple; scholar”) and discipula f (“female disciple”), both from Latin discipulus (“a pupil, learner”). Later influenced or superseded in Middle English by Old French deciple.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈsaɪpl̩/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dis‧ci‧ple

Noun

disciple (plural disciples)

1. A person who learns from another, especially one who then teaches others.
2. An active follower or adherent of someone, or some philosophy etc.
   • Holy Bible, Matthew 9:10 (King James Version)

     And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:

     By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.

3. (Ireland) A wretched, miserable-looking man.

Synonyms

• student

Related terms

• discipleship
• disciplic
• discipline

Translations

person who learns from another

• Armenian: աշակերտ (hy) (ašakert)
• Bulgarian: ученик (bg) m (učenik)
• Catalan: deixeble (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 弟子 (zh) (dìzǐ)

• Czech: následovník m, žák (cs) m
• Dutch: discipel (nl) m
• Esperanto: disĉiplo
• Finnish: oppilas (fi)
• French: disciple (fr)
• Galician: discípulo m
• German: Jünger (de) m, Jüngerin f
• Hungarian: tanítvány (hu)
• Indonesian: murid (id)
• Japanese: 弟子 (ja) (でし, deshi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: discipulus (la), discens
• Norman: discipl'ye m
• Old English: ġingra m, discipul m
• Old Saxon: giungaro m, jungaro m, iungaro m
• Persian: شاگرد (fa) (šâgerd)
• Portuguese: discípulo (pt) m
• Russian: учени́к (ru) m (učeník), после́дователь (ru) m (poslédovatelʹ), сторо́нник (ru) m (storónnik)
• Scottish Gaelic: deisciobal m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wuknik m, wuknica f

• Spanish: discípulo (es) m
• Tagalog: disipulo
• Volapük: (♂♀) tidäb (vo), (♂) hitidäb, (♀) jitidäb

active follower or adherent

• Bulgarian: последовател (bg) m (posledovatel)
• Catalan: deixeble (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 門徒／门徒 (zh) (méntú), 门徒 (zh) (méntú)

• Czech: stoupenec (cs) m, učedník m
• Dutch: leerling (nl) m
• Finnish: seuraaja (fi)
• French: disciple (fr)
• Galician: discípulo m
• German: Jünger (de) m, Jüngerin f
• Hungarian: követő (hu)
• Irish: deisceabal m

  Old Irish: deiscipul m

• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: discipulus (la)
• Ngazidja Comorian: mna-shioni class 1/2
• Norman: discipl'ye m
• Old English: leorningcniht m
• Persian: مرید (fa) (morid)
• Plautdietsch: Jinja m
• Portuguese: discípulo (pt) m
• Russian: после́дователь (ru) m (poslédovatelʹ), сторо́нник (ru) m (storónnik), (apostle) апо́стол (ru) m (apóstol)
• Scottish Gaelic: deisciobal m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wuknik m, wuknica f

• Spanish: discípulo (es) m
• Swahili: mwanafunzi (sw) class 1/2

See also

• apostle

Verb

1. (religion, transitive) To convert (a person) into a disciple.
2. (religion, transitive) To train, educate, teach.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.i:

     fraile youth is oft to follie led, / Through false allurement of that pleasing baite, / That better were in vertues discipled […]

   1. (Christianity, certain denominations) To routinely counsel (one's peer or junior) one-on-one in their discipleship of Christ, as a fellow affirmed disciple.

Further reading

• “disciple”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “disciple”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

---

French

Etymology

From Old French deciple, borrowed from Latin discipulus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.sipl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

disciple m (plural disciples)

1. disciple

Further reading

• “disciple”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.