zoroastrianhttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zoroastrian_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_useZoroastrian, adj. & n.
Revised 2023

Zoroastrianadjective & noun

  1. adjective
    1. 1597–
      Of, relating to, or characteristic of Zoroastrianism or its followers; designating a follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism.
      1. 1597
        This is that Zoroastrien & Bactrien science [French ceste science Zoroastrienne, & Bactrienne], that of Balaam, & some others in my opinion, which hath succeeded vnto so many Arabian Astrologians.
        H. M., translation of J. Du Bec-Crispin, Hist. Tamerlan 2
      2. 1662
        The Zoroastrian Oracles mention reductive Angels, which reduce Souls to them, drawing them from several things.
        T. Stanley, History of Chaldaick Philosophy 25
      3. 1795
        The..heresy of Manes, which was compounded out of the ancient Zoroastrian or Magian superstition, and certain perverted doctrines of Christianity.
        T. Maurice, History of Hindostan (1820) vol. II. iv. iii. 249
      4. 1892
        There appears to be a distinct polemical element in the earliest Zoroastrian Hymns.
        B. F. Westcott, Gospel of Life 172
      5. 1968
        In the Arab period Iranian Zoroastrian writers turned to new alphabets and attempted to use them for writing down Middle Persian texts phonetically.
        P. van Popta-Hope, translation of J. Rypka, Hist. Iranian Literature 34
      6. 1999
        The Christian and Muslim concept of angels, she liked to boast, was ‘derived’ from these Zoroastrian originals.
        S. Rushdie, Ground beneath her Feet (2000) ii. 24
      7. 2012
        This is the time of year when Iranians prepare for the most important holiday of the Persian calendar, Nowruz, the ancient Zoroastrian festival marking the spring equinox.
        Guardian 25 February 27/1
  2. noun
    1. 1734–
      A follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism.
      1. 1734
        The question is how to resist the Zoroastrian when he shall attack in his turn, and shall labour to prove that sin and its consequences are not consistent with the idea of one infinitely perfect and holy Being.
        P. des Maizeaux, Life of Mr Bayle p. cvi in Bayle's Hist. Crit. Dictionary (ed. 2) vol. I.
      2. 1811
        I would sooner be a Paulician, Manichean, Spinozist, Gentile, Pyrrhonian, Zoroastrian, than one of the seventy-two villainous sects who are tearing each other to pieces for the love of the Lord.
        Lord Byron, Letter 3 September (1973) vol. II. 89
      3. 1864
        The doctrine of the Resurrection..was not known to the Zoroastrians until after the Christian era.
        E. B. Pusey, Daniel 492
      4. 1954
        The cloth merchants, or bazzāz, had among their members Muslims, Jews, and Zoroastrians.
        A. K. S. Lambton in L. E. Sweet, Peoples & Cultures of Middle East (1970) vol. I. 92
      5. 2018
        There are fewer than 5,000 Zoroastrians in Britain.., but the government said the community's contribution to both world wars ‘greatly exceeded their small size’.
        Times 17 October 25/3

Zoroastrian, adj. & n. was revised in March 2023.

Zoroastrian, adj. & n. was last modified in September 2024.