The Collaborative International Dictionary
Anathema \A*nath"e*ma\, n.; pl. Anathemas. [L. anath[e^]ma, fr. Gr. ? anything devoted, esp. to evil, a curse; also L. anath[=e]ma, fr. Gr. ? a votive offering; all fr. ? to set up as a votive gift, dedicate; ? up + ? to set. See Thesis.]
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A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, and accompanied by excommunication. Hence: Denunciation of anything as accursed.
[They] denounce anathemas against unbelievers.
--Priestley. -
An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.
Finally she fled to London followed by the anathemas of both [families].
--Thackeray. -
Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority.
The Jewish nation were an anathema destined to destruction. St. Paul . . . says he could wish, to save them from it, to become an anathema, and be destroyed himself.
--Locke.Anathema Maranatha(see
--1 Cor. xvi. 22), an expression commonly considered as a highly intensified form of anathema. Maran atha is now considered as a separate sentence, meaning, ``Our Lord cometh.''
Usage examples of "anathema maranatha".
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
Sink, I beseech you, these sectarian differences, and combine to declare me at least Anathema Maranatha.