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ap·o·ca·tas·ta·sis or ap·o·ka·tas·ta·sis

(ăp′ə-kə-tăstə-sĭs)

n. pl. ap·o·ca·tas·ta·sesor ap·o·ka·tas·ta·ses (ăp′ə-kə-tăstə-sēz′)

The belief that all souls ultimately achieve salvation and are received into heaven.

[Late Latin, restoration to a former position, restitution, from Greek apokatastasis (used by St. Paul in Acts 3:21 to describe the future restoration of the universe to a state in accordance with God's will), from apokathistanai, to restore, reinstate, return : apo-, apo- + kathistanai, to bring into a certain state (kata-, cata- + histanai, sta-, to set, place; see stā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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