Plural of faithful; people who are loyal, devoted followers or believers, especially in religious contexts.
From Old English 'faeth' (faith) plus '-ful' (full of) plus '-s' (plural). 'Faithful' has been used since Middle English to denote loyal adherents.
In religious writing, 'the faithfuls' or 'the faithful' became a collective noun for believers—treating loyalty as something that binds a group together into a unified community.
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