[dis.ci.ple] n [ME, fr. OE discipul & OF desciple, fr. LL and L; LL discipulus follower of Jesus Christ in his lifetime, fr. L, pupil] (bef. 12c) 1: one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: as a: one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ's followers according to the Gospel accounts b: a convinced adherent of a school or individual
2. cap: a member of the Disciples of Christ founded in the U.S. in 1809 that holds the Bible alone to be the rule of faith and practice, usu. baptizes by immersion, and has a congregational polity syn see follower -- dis.ci.ple.ship n