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pagan

adj
/ˈpeɪɡən//pəˈɡɑːn/

Etymology

From Middle English pagan (adjective and noun), from Latin pāgānus (“rural, rustic; civilian”), replaced Middle English payen from the same root. The meaning “not Christian” arose in Vulgar Latin, probably from the 4th century, owing to the Roman countryside being largely non-Christian, or potentially from the “civilian” meaning—denoting those not in the “army of Christ”. As a self-designation of neopagans, attested since 1990. Partly displaced native heathen, from Old English hǣþen. Note the opposition: pagan, peasant (related via pāgus), rustic, savage (<< Latin silvāticus), villain (<< Latin vīllānus), boorish vs. urbane, civil, courteous (akin to court). Also note Ancient Greek ἄγροικος (ágroikos) vs. ἀστεῖος (asteîos).

  1. inherited from payen
  2. derived from pāgānus — “rural, rustic; civilian”
  3. inherited from pagan

Definitions

  1. Relating to, characteristic of religions that differ from main world religions.

    • Under Christianization, many converted societies transformed their pagan deities into saints.
    • Black metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that typically takes on anti-Christian, satanic and pagan themes.

  2. Savage, immoral, uncivilized, wild.

  3. A person not adhering to a main world religion

    A person not adhering to a main world religion; a follower of a pantheistic or nature-worshipping religion.

    • This community has a surprising number of pagans.
  4. ›+ 9 more definitions

    1. An uncivilized or unsocialized person.

    2. An unruly, badly educated child.

    3. An outlaw biker who is a member of the Pagans MC.

    4. Alternative form of paigon

    5. A male given name from Latin.

    6. A female given name.

      • 'I've always believed that one of the reasons she never named Pagan's father was to spare her a similar pain.' 'You don't know who he is?' 'No. And, at the risk of sounding like Candida, I'd give anything to find out.'
      • In 2012, author Pagan Kennedy was hired by The New York Times magazine to write a column titled “Who Made That?” She began to hunt the people down behind inventions like sliced bread, the 3-D printer, and lipstick.

    7. A surname.

      • Mrs Pagan was delivered of a posthumous child, and thereafter along with the infant (a girl), she brought a process of aliment against John Pagan, who was a hosier in Dumfries, and alleged to be wealthy,[…]

    8. The city of Bagan, Myanmar.

    9. The 9th- to 13th-century Burmese kingdom which had its capital at this city.

The neighborhood

Derived

anti-pagan, Christopagan, curse like a pagan, neopagan, nonpagan, pagandom, paganess, paganic, paganing, paganise, paganish, paganism, paganist, paganistic, paganity, paganization, paganize, paganly, paganness, paganophile, paganry, playgan, postpagan, semipagan, swear like a pagan, technopagan, unpagan, neo-pagan, Pagans Flat

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for pagan. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA