Infidel

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Infidel \In"fi*del\, a. [L. infidelis; pref. in- not + fidelis
     faithful, fr. fides faith: cf. F. infid[`e]le. See
     {Fidelity}.]
     Not holding the faith; -- applied by Christians to one who
     does not believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, and
     the supernatural origin of Christianity; used by Mohammedans


     to refer to those who do not believe in Islam.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
           The infidel writer is a great enemy to society. --V.
                                                    Knox.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Infidel \In"fi*del\, n.
     One who does not believe in the prevailing religious faith; a
     heathen; a freethinker; -- used especially by Christians and
     Mohammedans.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     Note: Infidel is used by English writers to translate the
           equivalent word used Mohammedans in speaking of
           Christians and other disbelievers in Mohammedanism.
  
     Syn: {Infidel}, {Unbeliever}, {Freethinker}, {Deist},
          {Atheist}, {Sceptic}, {Agnostic}.
  
     Usage: An infidel, in common usage, is one who denies
            Christianity and the truth of the Scriptures. Some
            have endeavored to widen the sense of infidel so as to
            embrace atheism and every form of unbelief; but this
            use does not generally prevail. A freethinker is now
            only another name for an infidel. An unbeliever is not
            necessarily a disbeliever or infidel, because he may
            still be inquiring after evidence to satisfy his mind;
            the word, however, is more commonly used in the
            extreme sense. A deist believes in one God and a
            divine providence, but rejects revelation. An atheist
            denies the being of God. A sceptic is one whose faith
            in the credibility of evidence is weakened or
            destroyed, so that religion, to the same extent, has
            no practical hold on his mind. An agnostic remains in
            a state of suspended judgment, neither affirming nor
            denying the existence of a personal Deity.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  infidel
       n : a person who does not acknowledge your God [syn: {heathen},
           {pagan}, {gentile}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  40 Moby Thesaurus words for "infidel":
     agnostic, atheist, atheistic, disbeliever, disbelieving, ethnic,
     faithless, freethinker, gentile, giaour, goy, goyish, heathen,
     heretic, infidelic, kaffir, minimifidian, misbelieving,
     non-Christian, non-Jew, non-Jewish, non-Mohammedan, non-Mormon,
     non-Moslem, non-Muhammadan, non-Muslim, nonbeliever, nullifidian,
     pagan, profane, secularist, shegets, shiksa, unbeliever,
     unbelieving, unchristian, uncircumcised, zendician, zendik,
     zendikite
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  INFIDEL, persons, evidence. One who does not believe in the existence of a 
  God, who will reward or punish in this world or that which is to come. 
  Willes' R. 550. This term has been very indefinitely applied. Under the name 
  of infidel, Lord Coke comprises Jews and heathens; 2 Inst 506; 3 Inst. 165; 
  and Hawkins includes among infidels, such as do not believe either in the 
  Old or New Testament. Hawk. P. C. b 2, c. 46, s. 148. 
       2. It is now settled that when the witness believes in a God who will 
  reward or punish him even in this world he is competent. See willes, R. 550. 
  His belief may be proved from his previous declarations and avowed opinions; 
  and when he has avowed himself to be an infidel, he may show a reform of his 
  conduct, and change of his opinion since the declarations proved when the 
  declarations have been made for a very considerable space of time, slight 
  proof will suffice to show he has changed his opinion. There is some 
  conflict in the cases on this subject, some of them are here referred to: 
  18 John. R. 98; 1 Harper, R. 62; 4 N. Hamp. R. 444; 4 Day's Cas. 51; 2 
  Cowen, R. 431, 433 n., 572; 7 Conn. R. 66; 2 Tenn. R. 96; 4 Law Report, 268; 
  Alis. Pr. Cr. Law, 438; 5 Mason, 16; 15 mass. 184; 1 Wright, 345; So. Car. 
  Law Journ. 202. Vide Atheist; Future state. 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  INFIDEL, n.  In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian
  religion; in Constantinople, one who does.  (See GIAOUR.)  A kind of
  scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to,
  divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs,
  voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbes, nuns,
  missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests,
  muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders,
  primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries,
  clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors,
  preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs,
  bonezs, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans,
  deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons,
  hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins,
  postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons,
  reverences, revivalists, cenobites, perpetual curates, chaplains,
  mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas,
  sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals,
  prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, cures, sophis, mutifs and
  pumpums.