heathenism

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heathenism

Where it comes from

From heathen + -ism, coined in the 17th century in place of the then-obsolete heathendom. First attested in Francis Bacon's Of the advancement of learning (1605), II. xiv. §9: "The heresy of the Anthropomorphites … and the opinion of Epicurus, answerable to the same in heathenism, who supposed the gods to be in human shape" (OED).

noun heathenisms

countable, uncountable The state of being, or behavior and thought, of heathens. Near-synonym: paganism
Similar: heathenry, heathendom, heathenship, paganism

Translations

Every language

noun paganism

한국어	이교 igyo
中文	異教 /异教 yìjiào
Română	păgânism, păgânătate

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MLA

"heathenism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/heathenism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

heathenism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/heathenism

Chicago

"heathenism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/heathenism.

BibTeX

@misc{heathenism_2026,
  title = {heathenism},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/heathenism},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}