Adjacent Words

Pagan definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PA'GAN, n. [L. paganus, a peasant or countryman, from pagus, a village.] A heathen; a Gentile; an idolater; one who worships false gods. This word was originally applied to the inhabitants of the country, who on the first propagation of the christian religion adhered to the worship of false gods, or refused to receive christianity, after it had been received by the inhabitants of the cities. In like manner, heather signifies an inhabitant of the heath or woods, and caffer, in Arabic, signifies the inhabitant of a hut or cottage, and one that does not receive the religion of Mohammed. Pagan is used to distinguish one from a Christian and a Mohammedan.
PA'GAN, a. Heathen; heathenish; Gentile; noting a person who worships false gods.
1. Pertaining to the worship of false gods.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam [syn: heathen, heathenish, pagan, ethnic] n
1: a person who does not acknowledge your god [syn: heathen, pagan, gentile, infidel]
2: a person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion (not a Christian or Muslim or Jew)
3: someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures [syn: hedonist, pagan, pleasure seeker]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin paganus, from Latin, civilian, country dweller, from pagus country district; akin to Latin pangere to fix — more at pact Date: 14th century 1. heathen 1; especially a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome) 2. one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods ; an irreligious or hedonistic person 3. neo-pagan • pagan adjective • paganish adjective

Britannica Concise

Follower of a religion other than Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The early Christians often used the term to refer to non-Christians who worshiped multiple deities. Christian missionaries frequently sought to stamp out pagan practices by building churches on the sites of pagan shrines or by associating Christian holidays with pagan rituals (e.g., linking Christmas with the celebration of the winter solstice). The term pagan was also used to refer to non-Christian philosophers. Village, central Myanmar. Extending along the left bank of the Irrawaddy River, southwest of Mandalay, it was founded c.AD 849 and was the capital of a powerful dynasty from the 11th to the 13th cent. It was conquered by the Mongols in 1287. As a center of Buddhist learning, it is a pilgrimage center and contains Buddhist shrines that have been restored and redecorated and are in current use. Ruins of other shrines and pagodas cover a wide area. An earthquake in 1975 severely damaged more than half of the important structures and irreparably destroyed many of them. The village also has a school for lacquerware, for which the region is noted. Follower of a religion other than Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The early Christians often used the term to refer to non-Christians who worshiped multiple deities. Christian missionaries frequently sought to stamp out pagan practices by building churches on the sites of pagan shrines or by associating Christian holidays with pagan rituals (e.g., linking Christmas with the celebration of the winter solstice). The term pagan was also used to refer to non-Christian philosophers. Village, central Myanmar. Extending along the left bank of the Irrawaddy River, southwest of Mandalay, it was founded c.AD 849 and was the capital of a powerful dynasty from the 11th to the 13th cent. It was conquered by the Mongols in 1287. As a center of Buddhist learning, it is a pilgrimage center and contains Buddhist shrines that have been restored and redecorated and are in current use. Ruins of other shrines and pagodas cover a wide area. An earthquake in 1975 severely damaged more than half of the important structures and irreparably destroyed many of them. The village also has a school for lacquerware, for which the region is noted.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. a person not subscribing to any of the main religions of the world, esp. formerly regarded by Christians as unenlightened or heathen. --adj. 1 a of or relating to or associated with pagans. b irreligious. 2 identifying divinity or spirituality in nature; pantheistic. Derivatives: paganish adj. paganism n. paganize v.tr. & intr. (also -ise). Etymology: ME f. L paganus villager, rustic f. pagus country district: in Christian L = civilian, heathen

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pagan Pa"gan (p[=a]"gan), n. [L. paganus a countryman, peasant, villager, a pagan, fr. paganus of or pertaining to the country, rustic, also, pagan, fr. pagus a district, canton, the country, perh. orig., a district with fixed boundaries: cf. pangere to fasten. Cf. Painim, Peasant, and Pact, also Heathen.] One who worships false gods; an idolater; a heathen; one who is neither a Christian, a Mohammedan, nor a Jew. Neither having the accent of Christians, nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man. --Shak. Syn: Gentile; heathen; idolater. Usage: Pagan, Gentile, Heathen. Gentile was applied to the other nations of the earth as distinguished from the Jews. Pagan was the name given to idolaters in the early Christian church, because the villagers, being most remote from the centers of instruction, remained for a long time unconverted. Heathen has the same origin. Pagan is now more properly applied to rude and uncivilized idolaters, while heathen embraces all who practice idolatry.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pagan Pa"gan, a. [L. paganus of or pertaining to the country, pagan. See Pagan, n.] Of or pertaining to pagans; relating to the worship or the worshipers of false goods; heathen; idolatrous, as, pagan tribes or superstitions. And all the rites of pagan honor paid. --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pagans) 1. Pagan beliefs and activities do not belong to any of the main religions of the world and take nature and a belief in many gods as a basis. They are older, or are believed to be older, than other religions. ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. In former times, pagans were people who did not believe in Christianity and who many Christians considered to be inferior people. The new religion was eager to convert the pagan world. ? Christian N-COUNT: oft N n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. [Anciently written Paien, Payen, Painim, Paynim, and Panym.] Heathen, gentile, idolater. II. a. Heathenish, heathen, idolatrous, paganic, paganical.

Moby Thesaurus

Gentile, Gothic, Philistine, allotheist, allotheistic, animist, animistic, atheist, atheistic, barbarous, bibliolatrous, bookless, chthonian, deceived, disbeliever, disbelieving, ethnic, faithless, fetishistic, functionally illiterate, gentile, grammarless, heathen, heathenish, hoodwinked, idol worshiping, idolater, idolatric, idolatrical, idolatrous, idolistic, ill-educated, illiterate, infidel, infidelic, led astray, lowbrow, minimifidian, misinformed, misinstructed, mistaught, nonbeliever, nonintellectual, nullifidian, paganish, paganistic, pagano-Christian, polytheist, polytheistic, profane, rude, secularist, unbeliever, unbelieving, unbooked, unbookish, unbooklearned, unbriefed, unchristian, uncultivated, uncultured, unedified, uneducated, unerudite, unguided, uninstructed, unintellectual, unlearned, unlettered, unliterary, unread, unrefined, unscholarly, unschooled, unstudious, untaught, untutored, zoolatrous