from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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}.]
1. A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by
ecclesiastical authority, and accompanied by
excommunication. Hence: Denunciation of anything as
accursed.
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[They] denounce anathemas against unbelievers.
--Priestley.
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2. An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.
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Finally she fled to London followed by the anathemas
of both [families]. --Thackeray.
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3. Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by
ecclesiastical authority.
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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.
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{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."
[1913 Webster] Anathematic