prozymite

English

WOTD – 26 April 2019

Etymology

Greek-style prosphora (Orthodox leavened Eucharist bread)

Borrowed from German Prozymit, from Medieval Latin prozymīta, from Byzantine Greek προζυμίτης (prozumítēs), from Ancient Greek προζύμιον (prozúmion, “leaven”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, suffix forming masculine nouns meaning being connected to or a member of something, or coming from a particular place). προζύμιον is derived from προ- (pro-, suffix meaning ‘before, in front’) + ζύμη (zúmē, “leaven, yeast”) + -ιον (-ion, suffix forming nouns).^[1] The English word is analysable as, by surface analysis, pro- +‎ zym- +‎ -ite.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɒzɪmaɪt/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɑzəˌmaɪt/
Hyphenation: pro‧zym‧ite

Noun

prozymite (plural prozymites)

(Roman Catholicism, historical, derogatory) One who administers the Eucharist with leavened bread, in particular a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. [from mid 19th c.]
Synonym: fermentarian

Antonym: azymite
- 1867, [Alexis-François] Artaud de Montor, “153. St. Leo IX.—a.d. 1049.”, in [William Hayes] Neligan, editor, The Lives and Times of the Roman Pontiffs, from St. Peter to Pius IX. [...] Translated from the French, New York, N.Y.: Published by D[enis] & J[ames] Sadlier & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 284–285:
  Whosever shall obstinately blame the faith of the Holy See of Rome and its sacrifices, let him be anathema, and let him not be deemed Catholic, but a prozymite heretic, that is to say, Defender of the Leaven.
- 1989, Colin Morris, “Greeks and Saracens”, in The Papal Monarchy: The Western Church from 1050 to 1250 (Oxford History of the Christian Church), Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 2001, →ISBN, part I (The Papal Reform Movement and the Conflict with the Empire (c. 1046–1122), page 139:
  The inclusion not only of [Michael I] Cerularius, but of all his followers, and the denunciation of the Greeks as prozymite heretics, does look like a condemnation of the whole Byzantine church until it should change its practices.
- 2014, Hara Procopiou, “Barley Meal Processing in the Aegean World: A Look at Diversity”, in Annelou van Gijn, John C. Whittaker, Patricia C. Anderson, editors, Exploring and Explaining Diversity in Agricultural Technology (Early Agricultural Remnants and Technical Heritage (EARTH); 2), Oxford, Havertown, Pa.: Oxbow Books, →ISBN, section 2 (The Agricultural Process: Tools and Techniques in Cultural Context):
  For example, Greeks using leavened bread for the consecration, were in opposition with the unleavened bread of the Latin Church, and stigmatised as fermentarians or prozymites.

Usage notes

The word was used pejoratively by some members of the Latin Church or Roman Catholic Church to refer to members of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Alternative forms

Prozymite

Translations

one who administers the Eucharist with leavened bread

German: Prozymit m

References

^ “Prozymite, n. (and adj.)”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2007; “Prozymite”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.