Rastafarianism love

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A religious and political movement originating in Jamaica in the 1930s that bases its doctrine on selections from the Bible and regards Ethiopia as the Promised Land and Haile Selassie I as a messiah, with many members advocating nonviolence and rejecting materialism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A religion that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s out of biblical prophecy and rising black aspirations.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a religious cult based on a belief that Ras Tafari (Haile Selassie) is the Messiah and that Africa (especially Ethiopia) is the Promised Land

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Ras Tafari, Makonnen, former name of Haile Selassie I, proclaimed a divine being by adherents : Amharic ras, head, prince; see rℵš in Semitic roots + Amharic täfäri, feared, participle of täfärra, to be feared, derived stem of färra, to fear, respect; see prh in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Rastafarian +‎ -ism, from Amharic ራስተፈሪ (Ras Tafari, "alternative name of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia"), from ራስ (ras, "chief, head") (from Arabic رأس (ra's)) + ተፈሪ (tafari, "to be feared, fearsome"), from ፈራ (fara, "to fear")

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Rastafarianism.

Examples

  • D, I chose pedant ism to indicate more of day to day, lifestyle, immersive kind of application - as in Rastafarianism or communism, rather than the actual episode of nitpicking [pedantry] that is mercifully brief.

    Cheeseburger Gothic » Snip snip. 2010

  • A chapter on Max Romeo's "War Ina Babylon" includes a thorough précis of Rastafarianism, the roots of reggae and Jamaican national politics; even the price of the island's native ­aluminum ore figures in.

    Angry Howls, Righteous Beats Michael Azerrad 2011

  • Did you know there are more followers of Rastafarianism in the United States than there are Scientologists?

    Archive 2008-04-01 Andrew Beckner 2008

  • Did you know there are more followers of Rastafarianism in the United States than there are Scientologists?

    Manic Monday Andrew Beckner 2008

  • He's a physically towering figure who operates at a mystical junction of Judaism and Rastafarianism, combining dancehall with elements of hip-hop, such as beatboxing.

    Matisyahu 2010

  • After he has read, Barry Chevannes, a brilliant scholar on Rastafarianism and one of the key cultural leaders and intellectuals on the island, reads.

    Calabash, The Third Day : Kwame Dawes : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation 2007

  • How the reggae artists got to that place of seeing no inherent contradiction between the sensual and the spiritual can be traced to many things, not the least of which would be the multiple cultural sources that fed Rastafarianism — from African to India.

    Song of Songs : Kwame Dawes : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation 2007

  • She told me that homosexuality is heavily discouraged under Rastafarianism, one of the religious bodies on the islands.

    St. Kitts Adventure 2009

  • EW: Not really into Rastafarianism, but just, likes dreads.

    Jason Richards: Tim Heidecker And Eric Wareheim Discuss Their Awesome Show & Billion Dollar Movie 2009

  • Today, the philosophy of Bambaataa's Zulu Nation feels like an improbable cross between Garveyism and Buddhism, with some Islam and Rastafarianism thrown in for good measure.

    The Man Who Invented Hip Hop 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.