Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Puritan"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Puritan \Pu"ri*tan\, n. [From {Purity}.]
1. (Eccl. Hist.) One who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth and
the first two Stuarts, opposed traditional and formal
usages, and advocated simpler forms of faith and worship
than those established by law; -- originally, a term of
reproach. The Puritans formed the bulk of the early
population of New England.
Note: The Puritans were afterward distinguished as Political
Puritans, Doctrinal Puritans, and Puritans in
Discipline. --Hume.
2. One who is scrupulous and strict in his religious life; --
often used reproachfully or in contempt; one who has
overstrict notions.
She would make a puritan of the devil. --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Puritan \Pu"ri*tan\, a.
Of or pertaining to the Puritans; resembling, or
characteristic of, the Puritans.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
puritan
adj : morally rigorous and strict; "blue laws"; "the puritan work
ethic"; "puritanic distaste for alcohol"; "she was
anything but puritanical in her behavior" [syn: {blue(a)},
{puritanic}, {puritanical}]
n 1: adheres to strict religious principles; opposed to sensual
pleasures
2: a person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum
[syn: {prude}]
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