missionary

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin missiōnārius (“relating to a mission; a missionary”),^[2][3][4] formed on Latin missiō (“a sending”) with the suffix -ārius,^[2] from mittō (“to send”).^[5] French has missionnaire and Italian missionario from the same Latin word.^[2][4] It is formed on the same Latin noun as mission.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person sent on a religious mission abroad: the noun is recorded in 1625, the adjective in 1644.^[2][6] Etymonline dates the adjective to the 1640s and the noun to the 1650s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word arose among Catholic writers of the 17th century, when the Latin missiōnārius itself was new (about 1620).^[2] An extended, non-religious use of the noun appears in 1672, in Andrew Marvell.^[2] From 1693 to 1821 a missionary could also be a political agent or emissary.^[2] In New Zealand English the word was used in the 19th century for a Māori convert to Protestantism, and later for the sweet briar that the missionaries had brought in.^[2] The verb, "to do missionary work", is found in Huckleberry Finn (1884).^[2] The phrase missionary position is recorded by 1963; it is said to go back to Kinsey (1948), who traced it to Malinowski's work in Melanesia, though Etymonline gives this story only as an allegation.^[3]

Timeline

• 1625 – the noun, a person sent on a religious mission.^[2][6]
• 1644 – the adjective, relating to a mission.^[2][6]
• 1672 – in an extended, non-religious sense.^[2]
• 1693–1821 – a political agent or emissary.^[2]
• 1884 – the verb, to act as a missionary.^[2]
• 1963 – missionary position.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person sent, usually abroad, to spread a religion or to do charitable work.
2. Someone who zealously tries to win others over to a cause or doctrine.

Adjective

1. Relating to religious missions or the people engaged in them.
2. Marked by a strong wish to convert others to one's beliefs.

Word family

• missionary position

Related words

• emission
• emissary
• mission
• missive

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster