Added 9 October 2026
paganism
/ˈpeɪɡənɪzm̩/ noun
Latin root: pāgānismus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about paganism at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Any of various religions other than Christianity or Judaism or Islamism.
Origin
From Latin pāgānismus (“heathenism”), from pāgānus (“peasant, rural, rustic”). The term was used pejoratively by local Orthodox Christian Demonyms to belittle what remained of alternative native ideas and ideals. By surface analysis, pagan + -ism.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)