Origin: before 900; Middle English hethen, Old English hǣthen, akin to
German Heide, heidnisch (adj.),
Old Norse heithingi (noun),
heithinn (adj.),
Gothic haithno (noun); perhaps akin to
heath Related formshea·then·dom, noun
hea·then·hood, noun
hea·then·ness, noun
hea·then·ship, noun
half-hea·then, adjective, noun
EXPANDnon·hea·then, noun, plural non·hea·thens, non·hea·then, adjective
un·hea·then, adjective
COLLAPSESynonyms
3. heathenish, barbarous. Heathen, pagan are both applied to peoples who are not Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. Heathen is often distinctively applied to unenlightened or barbaric idolaters, especially to primitive or ancient tribes: heathen rites, idols. Pagan, though applied to any of the peoples not worshiping according to the three religions mentioned above, is most frequently used in speaking of the ancient Greeks and Romans: a pagan poem; a pagan civilization. 4. philistine; savage.
Antonyms
4. sophisticated, urbane, cultured.