Word.ws English Dictionary

Nicolaitism

Nicolaitism noun: the practices of the Nicolaitan sect; libertinism, especially among the clergy; clerical marriage.

Noun

Nicolaitism (uncountable)

  1. (historical) The practices of the Nicolaitan sect; libertinism, especially among the clergy; clerical marriage.
    • By the time Irenaeus's generation was writing the topos of Nicolaitism was already developed enough to be harnessed to condemn individuals or groups for alleged sexual immorality.2005, Alberto Ferreiro, Simon Magus in Patristic, Medieval and Early Modern Traditions, page 113
    • Leo IX held at least 12 synods on his own initiative across Italy, France and Germany between 1049 and 1053, demonstrating active and credible leadership with decrees against simony and nikolaitism.2016, Peter H. Wilson, The Holy Roman Empire, Penguin, published 2017, page 53

Forms of Nicolaitism

alternative formnicolaitism
alternative formnikolaitism

Origin of Nicolaitism

From Nicolaite + -ism.

Questions about Nicolaitism

What does Nicolaitism mean?
Nicolaitism means the practices of the Nicolaitan sect; libertinism, especially among the clergy; clerical marriage.
What part of speech is Nicolaitism?
Nicolaitism is a noun.

Words near Nicolaitism in the dictionary

  1. Nicolaitan
  2. Nicolaitanism
  3. Nicolaitans
  4. Nicolaite
  5. Nicolaites
  6. Nicolaitism
  7. Nicolas
  8. Nicolau-Balus syndrome
  9. Nicolaus
  10. Nicolay
  11. Nicolays

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Nicolaitism (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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