Word.ws English Dictionary

Erastian

UK/ɪˈɹastɪən/

Erastian adjective: of or relating to Thomas Erastus (1524–1583), Swiss physician and theologian, or his doctrines, associated with the idea that the State should have supremacy in ecclesiastical matters.

Adjective

Erastian (not comparable)

  1. (historical) Of or relating to Thomas Erastus (1524–1583), Swiss physician and theologian, or his doctrines, associated with the idea that the State should have supremacy in ecclesiastical matters.
    • Napoleon may not have believed in God, but he certainly believed in the desirability of religion, and, while his outlook was naturally Erastian, he was anxious from the first to restore normal relations with the Papacy.1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society, published 2010, page 96

Noun

Erastian (plural Erastians)

  1. A follower of Thomas Erastus.

Forms of Erastian

pluralErastians

Origin of Erastian

From Erast(us) + -ian.

Questions about Erastian

What does Erastian mean?
Erastian means of or relating to Thomas Erastus (1524–1583), Swiss physician and theologian, or his doctrines, associated with the idea that the State should have supremacy in ecclesiastical matters.
What part of speech is Erastian?
Erastian can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce Erastian?
Erastian is pronounced /ɪˈɹastɪən/ (UK).

Words near Erastian in the dictionary

  1. Erasmine
  2. Erasmus
  3. Erasmuses
  4. erastai
  5. erastes
  6. Erastian
  7. Erastianism
  8. Erastianize
  9. Erastianized
  10. Erastianizes
  11. Erastianizing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Erastian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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