Don·a·tist (d?n??-t?st, d??n?-)n. A member of a rigoristic, schismatic Christian sect, strongly opposed by Saint Augustine, that arose in North Africa in the fourth century ad and believed in sanctity as requisite for church membership and administration of all sacraments.[Medieval Latin Donatista, after Donatus, fourth-century ad ecclesiastic and rival claimant of the bishopric of Carthage.]Don?a·tism n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Donatist (?d??n?t?st) n (Christian Churches, other) a member of a schismatic heretical Christian sect originating in N Africa in 311 ad, that maintained that it alone constituted the true church[C15: from Late Latin D?n?tista a follower of D?n?tus, bishop of Carthage] ?Dona?tism nCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Don?a?tist (?d?n ? t?st, ?do? n?-) n. a member of a Christian sect that developed in N Africa in A.D. 311 and maintained that it alone constituted the whole and only true church. [1350?1400; Middle English