Exorcism — (from Late Latin exorcismus , from Greek exorkizein to adjure) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed. The practice is quite ancient and part of the… … Wikipedia
Exorcism — • Exorcism is (1) the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice; (2) the… … Catholic encyclopedia
exorcism — Exorcism is the act of freeing persons from the influence of, or possession by, what are believed to be demons or evil spirits. It played almost no role in the Protestant movement until the emergence of Pentecostalism in the 19th century; the… … Encyclopedia of Protestantism
Exorcism — Ex or*cism ( s[i^]z m), n. [L. exorcismus, Gr. exorkizmo s; cf. F. exorcisme.] 1. The act of exorcising; the driving out of evil spirits from persons or places by conjuration; also, the form of conjuration used. [1913 Webster] 2. Conjuration for… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
exorcism — early 15c., a calling up or driving out of evil spirits, from L.L. exorcismus, from Gk. exorkismos, from exorkizein exorcize, bind by oath, from ex out of + horkizein cause to swear, from horkos oath. Earlier in the same sense was exorcization… … Etymology dictionary
exorcism — [n] expelling evil spirits casting out, ceremony, ejection, expulsion, purification, ritual; concepts 165,367 … New thesaurus
exorcism — [eks′ôr siz΄əm, eks′ərsiz΄əm] n. [ME exorcisme < LL(Ec) exorcismus < Gr exorkismos] 1. the act of exorcising 2. a verbal formula or ritual used in exorcising … English World dictionary
exorcism — The expulsion of DEMONs and other unwanted spirits from a person or place. Rites of exorcism have been performed since ancient times as remedies against the negative or malevolent influences of spirits, such as the perceived cause of illnesses … Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology
exorcism — exorcismal /ek sawr siz meuhl, seuhr/, exorcisory /ek sawr suy zeuh ree, seuhr/, exorcistical, exorcistic, adj. /ek sawr siz euhm, seuhr /, n. 1. the act or process of exorcising. 2. the ceremony or the formula used in exorcising: An elaborate… … Universalium
exorcism — The expulsion of evil spirits. It was the belief in the 1st cent. CE, and long afterwards, that evil spirits could take possession of a person and cause mental and physical illnesses, especially epilepsy. By exorcism, which could take the form of … Dictionary of the Bible
