Hutterite

Hut·ter·ite

noun \ˈhə-tə-ˌrīt, ˈhü-\

Definition of HUTTERITE

: a member of an Anabaptist sect of northwestern United States and Canada living communally and holding property in common

— Hut·te·ri·an \ˌhə-ˈtir-ē-ən, hü-\ adjective

Origin of HUTTERITE

Jakob Hutter †1536 Moravian Anabaptist

First Known Use: 1910

Hutterite

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Member of the Hutterite Brethren, an Anabaptist sect that takes its name from its Austrian founder, Jakob Hutter, who was burned as a heretic in 1536. His followers modeled themselves on the early church in Jerusalem by holding their goods in common. Persecuted in Moravia and the Tirol, they moved eastward to Hungary and the Ukraine. In the 1870s many emigrated to the U.S. and settled in South Dakota. The society still exists in the western U.S. and Canada, where it has colonies of 60–150 members, who operate collective farms. Hutterites are pacifists who take no part in politics and remain separate from outside society.