Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Danite
Dan′ite
,Noun.
1.
A descendant of Dan; an Israelite of the tribe of Dan.
Judges xiii. 2.
2.
[So called in remembrance of the prophecy in Gen. xlix. 17, “
Dan
shall be a serpent by the way,” etc.] One of a secret association of Mormons, bound by an oath to obey the heads of the church in all things.
[U. S.]
Definition 2024
Danite
Danite
English
Noun
Danite (plural Danites)
- A member of the Biblical tribe of Dan.
- (Mormonism, chiefly historical) A member of a fraternal vigilante group founded by members of the Latter Day Saints in the 1830s.
Usage notes
The second sense used to refer to a band of armed men formed into companies of tens and fifties, as described by Mr. Sampson Avard; the phrase "Council of Fifty" was used in counterdiscourse against that group which was coined as the "Destructive Angels."