Muscular Christianity

Muscular Christianity
Muscular Mus"cu*lar, a. [Cf. F. musculaire. See {Muscle}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber. [1913 Webster]

Great muscular strength, accompanied by much awkwardness. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

2. Performed by, or dependent on, a muscle or the muscles. ``The muscular motion.'' --Arbuthnot. [1913 Webster]

3. Well furnished with muscles; having well-developed muscles; brawny; hence, strong; powerful; vigorous; as, a muscular body or arm. [1913 Webster]

{Muscular Christian}, one who believes in a part of religious duty to maintain a healthful and vigorous physical state. --T. Hughes.

{Muscular Christianity}. (a) The practice and opinion of those Christians who believe that it is a part of religious duty to maintain a vigorous condition of the body, and who therefore approve of athletic sports and exercises as conductive to good health, good morals, and right feelings in religious matters. --T. Hughes. (b) An active, robust, and cheerful Christian life, as opposed to a meditative and gloomy one. --C. Kingsley.

{Muscular excitability} (Physiol.), that property in virtue of which a muscle shortens, when it is stimulated; irritability; contractility.

{Muscular sense} (Physiol.), muscular sensibility; the sense by which we obtain knowledge of the condition of our muscles and to what extent they are contracted, also of the position of the various parts of our bodies and the resistance offering by external objects. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • muscular Christianity — noun A vigorous combination of Christian living with devotion to athletic enjoyments • • • Main Entry: ↑muscle …   Useful english dictionary

  • Muscular Christianity — Illustration by F. R. Gruger for the novel Hepsey Burke, by F. N. Westcott, 1915. The Episcopal rector Donald Maxwell (left) gets little pay because of interference from Sylvester Bascom (right), so Maxwell shovels stone to support himself and… …   Wikipedia

  • muscular Christianity — noun a Christian life of cheerful physical activity, especially as popularly associated with boys public schools of the Victorian British Empire. Derivatives muscular Christian noun …   English new terms dictionary

  • muscular Christianity — noun A Victorian movement stressing the need for energetic Christian activism in combination with an ideal of vigorous masculinity …   Wiktionary

  • Muscular — Mus cu*lar, a. [Cf. F. musculaire. See {Muscle}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber. [1913 Webster] Great muscular strength, accompanied by much… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Muscular Christian — Muscular Mus cu*lar, a. [Cf. F. musculaire. See {Muscle}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber. [1913 Webster] Great muscular strength, accompanied by …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Muscular excitability — Muscular Mus cu*lar, a. [Cf. F. musculaire. See {Muscle}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber. [1913 Webster] Great muscular strength, accompanied by …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Muscular sense — Muscular Mus cu*lar, a. [Cf. F. musculaire. See {Muscle}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber. [1913 Webster] Great muscular strength, accompanied by …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • muscular — (adj.) 1680s, pertaining to muscles, from L. musculus (see MUSCLE (Cf. muscle) (n.)) + AR (Cf. ar). Earlier in same sense was musculous (early 15c.). Meaning having well developed muscles is from 1736. Muscular Christianity (1857) is originally… …   Etymology dictionary

  • muscular — adj. 1 of or affecting the muscles. 2 having well developed muscles. Phrases and idioms: muscular Christianity a Christian life of cheerful physical activity as described in the writings of Charles Kingsley. muscular dystrophy see DYSTROPHY.… …   Useful english dictionary

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