Result from Foreign Dictionaries (4 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Convert \Con"vert\, n. 1. A person who is converted from one opinion or practice to another; a person who is won over to, or heartily embraces, a creed, religious system, or party, in which he has not previously believed; especially, one who turns from the controlling power of sin to that of holiness, or from unbelief to Christianity. [1913 Webster] The Jesuits did not persuade the converts to lay aside the use of images. --Bp. Stillingfleet. [1913 Webster] 2. A lay friar or brother, permitted to enter a monastery for the service of the house, but without orders, and not allowed to sing in the choir. Syn: Proselyte; neophyte. Usage: {Convert}, {Proselyte}, {Pervert}. A convert is one who turns from what he believes to have been a decided error of faith or practice. Such a change may relate to religion, politics, or other subjects. properly considered, it is not confined to speculation alone, but affects the whole current of one's feelings and the tenor of his actions. As such a change carries with it the appearance of sincerity, the term convert is usually taken in a good sense. Proselyte is a term of more ambiguous use and application. It was first applied to an adherent of one religious system who had transferred himself externally to some other religious system; and is also applied to one who makes a similar transfer in respect to systems of philosophy or speculation. The term has little or no reference to the state of the heart. Pervert is a term of recent origin, designed to express the contrary of convert, and to stigmatize a person as drawn off perverted from the true faith. It has been more particulary applied by members of the Church of England to those who have joined the Roman Catholic Church. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Convert \Con*vert"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Converted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Converting}.] [L. convertere, -versum; con- + vertere to turn: cf. F. convertir. See {Verse}.] 1. To cause to turn; to turn. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] O, which way shall I first convert myself? --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster] 2. To change or turn from one state or condition to another; to alter in form, substance, or quality; to transform; to transmute; as, to convert water into ice. [1913 Webster] If the whole atmosphere were converted into water. --T. Burnet. [1913 Webster] That still lessens The sorrow, and converts it nigh to joy. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 3. To change or turn from one belief or course to another, as from one religion to another or from one party or sect to another. [1913 Webster] No attempt was made to convert the Moslems. --Prescott. [1913 Webster] 4. To produce the spiritual change called conversion in (any one); to turn from a bad life to a good one; to change the heart and moral character of (any one) from the controlling power of sin to that of holiness. [1913 Webster] He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death. --Lames v. 20. [1913 Webster] 5. To apply to any use by a diversion from the proper or intended use; to appropriate dishonestly or illegally. [1913 Webster] When a bystander took a coin to get it changed, and converted it, [it was] held no larceny. --Cooley. [1913 Webster] 6. To exchange for some specified equivalent; as, to convert goods into money. [1913 Webster] 7. (Logic) To change (one proposition) into another, so that what was the subject of the first becomes the predicate of the second. [1913 Webster] 8. To turn into another language; to translate. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Which story . . . Catullus more elegantly converted. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster] {Converted guns}, cast-iron guns lined with wrought-iron or steel tubes. --Farrow. {Converting furnace} (Steel Manuf.), a furnace in which wrought iron is converted into steel by cementation. Syn: To change; turn; transmute; appropriate. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Convert \Con*vert"\, v. i. To be turned or changed in character or direction; to undergo a change, physically or morally. [1913 Webster] If Nebo had had the preaching that thou hast, they [the Neboites] would have converted. --Latimer. [1913 Webster] A red dust which converth into worms. --Sandys. [1913 Webster] The public hope And eye to thee converting. --Thomson. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: convert n 1: a person who has been converted to another religious or political belief v 1: change from one system to another or to a new plan or policy; "We converted from 220 to 110 Volt" [syn: {convert}, {change over}] 2: change the nature, purpose, or function of something; "convert lead into gold"; "convert hotels into jails"; "convert slaves to laborers" 3: change religious beliefs, or adopt a religious belief; "She converted to Buddhism" 4: exchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind or category; "Could you convert my dollars into pounds?"; "He changed his name"; "convert centimeters into inches"; "convert holdings into shares" [syn: {change}, {exchange}, {commute}, {convert}] 5: cause to adopt a new or different faith; "The missionaries converted the Indian population" 6: score an extra point or points after touchdown by kicking the ball through the uprights or advancing the ball into the end zone; "Smith converted and his team won" 7: complete successfully; "score a penalty shot or free throw" 8: score (a spare) 9: make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something; "He had finally convinced several customers of the advantages of his product" [syn: {convert}, {win over}, {convince}] 10: exchange a penalty for a less severe one [syn: {commute}, {convert}, {exchange}] 11: change in nature, purpose, or function; undergo a chemical change; "The substance converts to an acid"