pagan

pagan · adjective, noun¹

1. Middle English · inherited frompayen
2. Latin · derived frompāgānus“rural, rustic; civilian”
3. Middle English · inherited frompagan
4. English todaypagan

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).

Pagan · proper noun²

1. Latin · borrowed frompāgānus“rustic, rural”
2. English todayPagan

Borrowed from Latin pāgānus (“rustic, rural”).

Pagan · proper noun³

1. Burmese · borrowed fromပုဂံ
2. English todayPagan

Borrowing from Burmese ပုဂံ (pu.gam). Doublet of Bagan.

Words from the same roots