pagan

Meanings

Adjective

  • Relating to, characteristic of religions that differ from main world religions.
  • Savage, immoral, uncivilized, wild.

Noun

  • A person not adhering to a main world religion; a follower of a pantheistic or nature-worshipping religion.
  • An uncivilized or unsocialized person.
  • An unruly, badly educated child.

Related

Similar words

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Origin

  • From Middle English pagan, from Latin pāgānus. The meaning "not (Judeo-)Christian" arose in Vulgar Latin, probably from the 4th century. It is unclear whether this usage is derived primarily from the "rustic" or from the "civilian" meaning, which in Roman army jargon meant 'clumsy'. As a self-designation of neopagans attested since 1990.

Modern English dictionary

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