Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An adherent of a religion that does not worship the God of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.
- noun Such persons considered as a group.
- noun An adherent of a Neopagan religion that seeks to revive the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Germanic peoples.
- noun One who is regarded as irreligious, uncivilized, or unenlightened.
- noun Such persons considered as a group.
from The Century Dictionary.
- One of a race, nation, or people that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible, or such races, nations, or peoples collectively, especially when uncivilized or uncultured; one who is not a Jew, Christian, or Mohammedan; a pagan.
- In Scripture, with the definite article, the gentiles; those nations or peoples that did not acknowledge Jehovah, the God of the Jews, as the true God; hence, idolaters, from the prevalence of idolatry among them.
- Any irreligious, rude, barbarous, or unthinking person or class: as, the heathen at home.
- Pagan; gentile: as, heathen superstitions or customs.
- Synonyms See
gentile , n.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An individual of the pagan or unbelieving nations, or those which worship idols and do not acknowledge the true God; a pagan; an idolater.
- noun An irreligious person.
- noun as the term is used in the Scriptures, all people except the Jews; now used of all people except Christians, Jews, and Mohammedans.
- adjective Gentile; pagan.
- adjective Barbarous; unenlightened; heathenish.
- adjective Irreligious; scoffing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective not adhering to an
Abrahamic religion ;pagan . - adjective by extension uncultured; uncivilized; savage,
philistine . - adjective Alternative capitalization of
Heathen (pertaining or adhering to the Germanicneo-pagan faithHeathenry ). - noun A person who does not follow an
Abrahamic religion ; apagan . - noun by extension An uncultured or uncivilized person,
philistine . - noun Alternative capitalization of
Heathen (an adherent of the Germanicneo-pagan faith ofHeathenry ).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who does not acknowledge your god
- adjective not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It had made more than two millions of heathen in our country; and so long as the cries of these _heathen at home_ entered the ears of our young men and young women, they could not, dare not, go abroad.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus American Anti-Slavery Society
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Suggestions from what we call the heathen world seemed to accord with his Gospel of the Wild.
The Last Harvest John Burroughs 1879
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When Christian missionaries invade what they call a heathen country, they are followed in a little while by merchants and traders, and in a few days afterward by the army.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Volume VIII. Interviews Robert Green Ingersoll 1866
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The difference between the predictions of the Spirit and the oracles of the heathen is remarkable; the Spirit speaks expressly, but the oracles of the heathen were always doubtful and uncertain.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation) 1721
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The reproach of the heathen is here for ever silenced and justly retorted.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon) 1721
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Again, this heathen is confused by your "living like Christ" examples! mrs b
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A heathen is less than a Muslim and a woman is “less than” an man.
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A heathen is less than a Christian and a woman is “less than” an man.
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Can you tell them farewell, farewell no more to meet them on earth, can you Oh! can you leave them and native land far, far in heathen lands to dwell, can, you say,
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The distinction between being a Christian or a heathen is not reducible to a private/public distinction in part because the privately assured
brandelion commented on the word heathen
definitely one of my very favorite words.
December 2, 2006