pagan definition - Dictionary

Dictionary

pa·gan [ páygən ]

noun (plural pa·gans)

Definition:

1. an offensive term that deliberately insults somebody who does not acknowledge the God of the Bible, Torah, or Koran

2. an offensive term that deliberately insults somebody's nonbelief in religion, way of life, or degree of knowledge

3. polytheist or pantheist: a follower of an ancient polytheistic or pantheistic religion

[14th century. < late Latin paganus "heathen, non-Christian," in classical Latin "villager, civilian" < pagus "rural district"]

pa·gan·ish adjective

pa·gan adjective

pa·gan·ism noun

Word History


	The Latin word pagus, from which pagan is derived, originally meant "something stuck in the ground as a landmark." It was extended metaphorically to "rural district, village," and the noun paganus was derived from it, denoting "country dweller, villager." This shifted in meaning, first to "civilian," and then (based on the early Christian notion that all members of the Church were "soldiers" of Jesus Christ) to "heathen."