pagan

American  

[pey-guhn] / ˈpeɪ gən /

noun

1. (in historical contexts) one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.

2. a member of a religious, spiritual, or cultural community based on the worship of nature or the earth; a neopagan.

3. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

   1. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim; a heathen.

   2. an irreligious or hedonistic person.

   3. an uncivilized or unenlightened person.

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adjective

1. (in historical contexts) of or relating to pagans.

2. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

   1. relating to a religion, person, or culture that is not Christian, Jewish, or Muslim; heathen.

   2. irreligious or hedonistic.

   3. (of a person) uncivilized or unenlightened.

pagan British  

/ ˈpeɪɡən /

noun

1. a member of a group professing a polytheistic religion or any religion other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam

2. a person without any religion; heathen

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adjective

1. of or relating to pagans or their faith or worship

2. heathen; irreligious

Usage

What does pagan mean? The word pagan was once used to refer to a person who practiced a polytheistic religion—one based on belief in more than one god. This sense of the word was also used as an adjective to describe things related to such belief systems, as in pagan rituals. These senses are no longer in technical use (such as among religion scholars). Historically, pagan has also been used by followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to refer any person who practices a different religion (especially one different than their own). This sense of the word is considered disparaging and offensive due to implying that such people and their beliefs are primitive and perhaps even evil. A more general use of pagan based on this sense is used to refer to a person considered irreligious, uncivilized, or hedonistic. The word heathen has traditionally been used in the same ways. Today, pagan can be used in a neutral way to refer to a person whose religious or spiritual beliefs center around nature or the earth and various deities associated with it. Such a person may also be called or identify as a neopagan.  Example: As a Wiccan, I consider myself a pagan in the tradition of ancient belief systems.

Related Words

Heathen and pagan are primarily historical terms that were applied pejoratively, especially by people who were Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, to peoples who were not members of one of those three monotheistic religious groups. Heathen referred especially to the peoples and cultures of primitive or ancient tribes thought to harbor unenlightened, barbaric idol worshipers: heathen rites; heathen idols. Pagan, although sometimes applied similarly to those tribes, was more often used to refer specifically to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who worshiped the multiple gods and goddesses said to dwell on Mount Olympus, such as Zeus and Athena (called Jupiter and Minerva by the Romans). The term was applied to their beliefs and culture as well: a pagan ritual; a pagan civilization. Contemporary paganism, having evolved and expanded in Europe and North America since the 20th century, includes adherents of diverse groups that hold various beliefs, which may focus, for example, on the divinity of nature or of the planet Earth or which may be pantheistic or polytheistic. In modern English, heathen remains a term that can be offensive, used to accuse someone of being unenlightened or irreligious; pagan, however, is increasingly a neutral description of certain existing and emerging religious movements.

Other Word Forms

• nonpagan noun
• nonpaganish adjective
• pagandom noun
• paganish adjective
• paganishly adverb
• paganism noun
• paganist adjective
• paganistic adjective
• paganistically adverb
• pseudopagan adjective
• semipagan noun
• semipaganish adjective
• unpagan adjective

Etymology

Origin of pagan

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin pāgānus “worshiper of false gods,” originally (in military slang), “civilian” (i.e., not a soldier of Christ), Latin: “peasant,” noun use of pāgānus “rural, civilian,” derivative of pāgus “village, rural district” (akin to pangere “to make fast, settle upon, fix”) + -anus ; -an

Example Sentences

Perhaps his Ye Olde Tinder profile read: “Aspiring playwright seeks older woman, pagan preferred.”

From Los Angeles Times

Scandinavian studies scholars Roland Scheel and Simon Hauke are examining at the Cluster of Excellence how the medieval roots of the 'pagan North' shaped later interpretations and how these ideas have evolved over time.

From Science Daily

Catholic Normans, returning from the Crusades, have been granted the land and titles previously held by the pagan Saxons.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even after abolition, Lucumí continued — quietly, often in private homes — as police and officials criminalized anything perceived as “pagan.”

From Los Angeles Times

"It's got this fascinating iconography of a little figure with a long cross - explicitly Christian - over the valknut design, which has pagan roots."

From BBC

Related Words

• agnostic
• atheist