ANATHEMA

anathema

(noun) a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication

anathema, bete noire

(noun) a detested person; “he is an anathema to me”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

anathema (plural anathemas or anathemata)

(ecclesiastical, historical) A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, often accompanied by excommunication; something denounced as accursed. [from early 17th c.]

Synonyms: ban, curse

(by extension) Something which is vehemently disliked by somebody.

Synonym: bête noire

(literary) An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.

(ecclesiastical) Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority. [from 1520s]

Source: Wiktionary

A*nath"e*ma, n.; pl. Anathemas. Etym: [L. anath, fr. Gr. anath, fr. Gr. Thesis.]

1. A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, and accompanied by excommunication. Hence: Denunciation of anything as accursed. [They] denounce anathemas against unbelievers. Priestley.

2. An imprecation; a curse; a malediction. Finally she fled to London followed by the anathemas of both [families]. Thackeray.

3. Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority. The Jewish nation were an anathema destined to destruction. St. Paul . . . says he could wish, to save them from it, to become an anathema, and be destroyed himself. Locke. Anathema Maranatha Etym: (see 1 Cor. xvi. 22), an expression commonly considered as a highly intensified form of anathema. Maran atha is now considered as a separate sentence, meaning, "Our Lord cometh."

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition