exegete
/ˈɛksɪˌdʒiːt/US/ˈɛksəˌd͡ʒit/
exegete noun: a person skilled in exegesis; an interpreter of texts, difficult passages, law, oracles, and similar obscure or esoteric sources.
Noun
exegete (plural exegetes)
- A person skilled in exegesis; an interpreter of texts, difficult passages, law, oracles, and similar obscure or esoteric sources.
- A text that could not speak to the present was dead, and the exegete had a duty to revive it.2009, Karen Armstrong, The Case for God, Vintage, published 2010, page 94
- In Plato's state all three exegetes will be selected by Apollo. This is contrary to the practice of Hellenistic times, according to the evidence so ably marshaled by Oliver, when only two of the exegetes were named by the oracle.1960, Glenn R. Morrow, Charles Harry Kahn, Plato's Cretan City: A Historical Interpretation of the Laws, →ISBN
- Synonyms:
- exegetist, hermeneut, hermeneutician, hermeneuticist
Verb
exegete (third-person singular simple present exegetes, present participle exegeting, simple past and past participle exegeted)
- (chiefly religion) To interpret; to perform an exegesis on.
- History, not the dictionary, must exegete this doctrine. When thus exegeted, the secularity of our Government, as shown by the intentions of its founders, the customs of the people, and the continuous decisions of the courts, means simply the separation of church and state.1905, Borden P. Bowne, “Moral Training in the Public Schools”, in Homiletic Review, page 93
exegete meaning in Arabic
exegete in Arabic
- person skilled in exegesis
- مُفَسِّر mufassir
- to perform an exegesis on
- فَسَّرَ fassara
Synonyms of exegete
Forms of exegete
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | exegetes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | exegetes |
| present participle | exegeting |
| past participle | exegeted |
| past | exegeted |
Origin of exegete
From Ancient Greek ἐξηγητής (exēgētḗs, “expounder, interpreter”).
Questions about exegete
- What does exegete mean?
- Exegete means a person skilled in exegesis; an interpreter of texts, difficult passages, law, oracles, and similar obscure or esoteric sources.
- What is exegete in Arabic?
- Exegete in Arabic is مُفَسِّر (mufassir), فَسَّرَ (fassara). See Exegete meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is exegete?
- Exegete can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce exegete?
- Exegete is pronounced /ˈɛksɪˌdʒiːt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of exegete?
- The plural of exegete is exegetes.
Words near exegete in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: exegete (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-exegete.wav.
Cite this entry: “exegete.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/exegete. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
