Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

Heathens

 - 3 dictionary results

hea⋅then

  [hee-thuhn] noun, plural -thens, -then, adjective
Use Heathens in a Sentence
–noun
1. an unconverted individual of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a person who is neither a Jew, Christian, nor Muslim; pagan.
2. an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person.
–adjective
3. of or pertaining to heathens; pagan.
4. irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME hethen, OE hǣthen, akin to G Heide, heidnisch (adj.), ON heithingi (n.), heithinn (adj.), Goth haithno (n.); perh. akin to heath

Related forms:
hea⋅then⋅dom, noun
hea⋅then⋅hood, noun
hea⋅then⋅ness, noun
hea⋅then⋅ship, noun

Synonyms:
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, esp. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Heathens
hea·then   (hē'thən)   
n.   pl. hea·thens or heathen

  1. Offensive

    1. One who adheres to the religion of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.

    2. Such persons considered as a group; the unconverted.

    3. One who is regarded as irreligious, uncivilized, or unenlightened.

    4. Such persons considered as a group.

  2. Heathen An adherent of a Neopagan religion that seeks to revive the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Germanic peoples.

  3. Informal

    1. One who is regarded as irreligious, uncivilized, or unenlightened.

    2. Such persons considered as a group.


[Middle English hethen, from Old English hǣthen; see kaito- in Indo-European roots.]
hea'then adj., hea'then·dom, hea'then·ism, hea'then·ry n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

heathen 
O.E. hæðen "not Christian or Jewish," merged with O.N. heiðinn. Historically assumed to be from Goth. haiþno "gentile, heathen woman," used by Ulfilas in the first translation of the Bible into a Gmc. language (cf. Mark 7:26, for "Greek"); if so it could be a derivative of Goth. haiþi "dwelling on the heath," but this sense is not recorded. It may have been chosen on model of L. paganus (see pagan), or for resemblance to Gk. ethne (see gentile), or may in fact be a borrowing of that word, perhaps via Armenian hethanos. Like other words for exclusively Christian ideas (e.g. church) it would have come first into Gothic, then spread to other Gmc. languages.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Heathens on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way