Convert | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Con-vĕrt’, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. CONVERTED, p. pr. & vb. n. CONVERTING.] [Lat. convertere, conversum, from con and vertere, to turn; Fr., Pr., & Sp. convertir, It. convertere and convertire.] 1. To cause to turn; to turn. [Obs.] O, which way shall I convert myself? B. Jonson. 2. To change or turn from one state or condition to another; to alter in form or substance; to transform; to reduce; as, to convert water into ice. If the whole atmosphere were converted into water, it would make no more than eleven yards of water about the earth. Barnet. That still lessens The sorrow, and converts it nigh to joy. Milton. 3. To change or turn from one religion to another; or from one party or sect to another. No attempt was made to convert the Moslems. Prescott. 4. To turn from a bad life to a good one; to change the heart and moral character of from the controlling power of sin to that of holiness. He which converteth the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death. James v. 20. 5. To apply by a diversion from the proper or intended use. He converted the prizes to his own use. Arbuthnot. 6. To turn into another language; to translate; to render. [Obs.] B. Jonson. Syn.—To change; turn; transmute; appropriate.

Con-vèrt’, v. i.

verbintransitive

To be turned or changed; to undergo a change.

If Nebo had had the preaching that thou hast, they would have converted. Latimer.

Be this the whetstone of your sword; let grief Convert to anger. Shak.

Cŏn'vert, n.

noun

Sense 1. A person who is converted from one opinion or practice to another; a person who renounces one creed, religious system, or party, and embraces another; especially one who turns from the controlling power of sin to that of holiness.

When Platonism prevailed, the converts to Christianity of that school interpreted Holy Writ according to that philosophy. Locke.

Sense 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.

Synonyms—Proselyte; neophyte.—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 or perverted from the true faith. It has been more particularly applied by members of the church of England to those who have joined the Roman Catholic church.