heathen

heathen
—heathendom, n. —heathenhood, n. —heathenness, n. —heathenship, n.
/hee"dheuhn/, n., pl. heathens, heathen, adj.
n.
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.
adj.
3. of or pertaining to heathens; pagan.
4. irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.
[bef. 900; ME hethen, OE haethen, akin to G Heide, heidnisch (adj.), ON heithingi (n.), heithinn (adj.), Goth haithno (n.); perh. akin to HEATH]
Syn. 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.
Ant. 4. sophisticated, urbane, cultured.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Heathen — Hea then (h[=e] [th] n; 277), n.; pl. {Heathens} ( [th] nz) or collectively {Heathen}. [OE. hethen, AS. h[=ae][eth]en, prop. an adj. fr. h[=ae][eth] heath, and orig., therefore, one who lives in the country or on the heaths and in the woods (cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Heathen — Hea then (h[=e] [th] n; 277), n.; pl. {Heathens} ( [th] nz) or collectively {Heathen}. [OE. hethen, AS. h[=ae][eth]en, prop. an adj. fr. h[=ae][eth] heath, and orig., therefore, one who lives in the country or on the heaths and in the woods (cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Heathen — Hea then (h[=e] [th] n), a. 1. Gentile; pagan; as, a heathen author. The heathen philosopher. All in gold, like heathen gods. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Barbarous; unenlightened; heathenish. [1913 Webster] 3. Irreligious; scoffing. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • heathen — O.E. hæðen not Christian or Jewish, also as a noun, heathen man (especially of the Danes), merged with O.N. heiðinn (adj.) heathen, pagan. Perhaps lit. pertaining to one inhabiting uncultivated land, from HEATH (Cf. heath) + EN (Cf. en) (2). But… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Heathen — Heathen  англ. язычник, варвар Heathen  американская группа, играющая в стиле трэш метал Heathen  альбом Дэвида Боуи 2002 года …   Википедия

  • Heathen — Allgemei …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • heathen — [hē′thən] n. pl. heathens or heathen [ME hethen < OE hæthen < hæth, HEATH; like Goth haithnō, gentile (woman) < haithi, heath (hence lit., “heath dweller”) a loan transl. used by ULFILAS for LL(Ec) paganus (see PAGAN), taken in its L… …   English World dictionary

  • heathen — [adj] not believing in Christian god agnostic, atheistic, barbarian, godless, idolatrous, infidel, irreligious, nonbeliever, pagan, profane, skeptic; concept 545 Ant. godly, religious …   New thesaurus

  • heathen — ► NOUN derogatory ▪ a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially Christianity, Judaism, or Islam) as regarded by those who do. ► ADJECTIVE ▪ relating to heathens. DERIVATIVES heathendom noun heathenish adjective heathenism… …   English terms dictionary

  • heathen — [[t]hi͟ːðən[/t]] heathens 1) ADJ: usu ADJ n Heathen means having no religion, or belonging to a religion that is not Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. [OLD FASHIONED] He preached the Gospel to the heathen locals from this spot. ...a heathen temple …   English dictionary

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