missionaries
|mis-sion-ar-ies|
🇺🇸
/ˈmɪʃəˌnɛriz/
🇬🇧
/ˈmɪʃ(ə)n(ə)riːz/
(missionary)
religious envoy
Etymology
'missionary' originates from Latin, specifically the Late Latin word 'missionarius', where 'missio' meant 'a sending' and 'mittere' meant 'to send'.
'missionary' changed from Late Latin 'missionarius' into French (medieval) forms and then entered English in the 16th–17th century as 'missionary', meaning a person sent on a mission.
Initially it meant 'relating to a mission' or 'a person sent on a mission'; over time it came to be used especially for people sent to spread a religion and to carry out religious work abroad.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
people sent by a religious organization to another place to do religious work, especially to spread their faith.
Many missionaries travelled to remote regions to provide education and medical care while preaching their faith.
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Noun 2
people who strongly promote or advocate a particular cause, idea, or set of beliefs (not necessarily religious).
Environmental missionaries campaigned for stricter conservation laws in the region.
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Last updated: 2025/11/06 03:33