pagan
/ˈpeɪɡən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.56 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Relating to, characteristic of religions that differ from main world religions.
noun
A person not adhering to a main world religion; a follower of a pantheistic or nature-worshipping religion.
noun
name
A male given name from Latin.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "The way Green practices witchcraft defies stereotypes of broomstick-wielding, cauldron-toting, pointy-hatted witches. He doesn’t belong to a coven. He’s not Wiccan or pagan, religions that are rooted in witchcraft. He has a few cats, though they’re better suited for snuggling than serving as helpful familiars."
- "This community has a surprising number of pagans."
- "'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."
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).