1. A member of an evangelical Protestant church of congregational polity, following the reformed tradition in worship, and believing in individual freedom, in the separation of church and state, and in baptism of voluntary, conscious believers.
2. baptist One that baptizes.

[Middle English, baptizer, from Old French baptiste, from Late Latin baptista, from Greek baptistēs, from baptizein, to baptize. See baptize.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.