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a·pos·tate

(ə-pŏstāt′, -tĭt)

One who has abandoned one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin apostata, from Greek apostatēs, from aphistanai, to revolt; see APOSTASY.]

a·postate′ adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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