the.com/jesuit

means A member of the Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order famed for rigorous intellectualism, education, and disciplined service to the Pope — and, loosely, anyone who argues with suspiciously persuasive precision.

from Founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish soldier turned mystic, the Society of Jesus took its name directly from Jesus himself — 'Jesuit' simply meaning 'one of Jesus's.' The term was first used mockingly by outsiders wary of the order's zeal and influence, and it stuck. Jesuits became legendary for their training in rhetoric and casuistry — the art of reasoning through tricky moral cases — which is exactly why 'jesuitical' drifted into English as a byword for clever, hair-splitting argument, fair or not.