anathemas

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