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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.
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Heathendom
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
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
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 forms
hea·then·dom, noun
hea·then·hood, noun
hea·then·ness, noun
hea·then·ship, noun
half-hea·then, adjective, noun
EXPANDSynonyms
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.
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.
4. sophisticated, urbane, cultured.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To heathendom
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
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.
EXPAND 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.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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