Meanings
alternative Manichaism · alternative Manicheism · alternative obsolete Manichæism
- human sciencesA dualistic philosophy dividing the world between good and evil principles, or regarding matter as intrinsically evil and mind as intrinsically good.
In Manichaeism, as Benny Goodman used to sing, it's “Gotta Be This or That.” One thing or the other will triumph, in this dualistic view, and the winner is supposed to be determined in an apocalyptic struggle involving a world conflagration.
1988 June 12, William Safire, “No Shades of Gray”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna religion founded by Manes in the third century; a synthesis of Zoroastrian dualism between light and dark and Babylonian folklore and Buddhist ethics and superficial elements of Christianity; spread widely in the Roman Empire but had largely died out by 1000
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Classical Syriacܡܐܢܝ ܚܝܐ“Living Mani”
- Koine GreekΜανιχαϊσμός
- LatinManichaismus
- EnglishManichaeism
From Latin Manichaismus, from Koine Greek Μανιχαϊσμός (Manikhaïsmós), from Μανιχαῖος (Manikhaîos, “Manichaeus”) [from Classical Syriac ܡܐܢܝ ܚܝܐ (Mānī ḥayyā, “Living Mani”), from ܡܐܢܝ (Mānī, “Mani”, the name of its founder) + ܚܝܐ (ḥayyā, “living, alive”)] + -ισμός (-ismós). By surface analysis, Manichaeus + -ism. Although Manichaeism is the most widespread spelling in English, it is a hypercorrection. The expected derivation from Koine Greek Μανιχαϊσμός (Manikhaïsmós) and Latin Manichaismus is Manichaism (compare with Judaism, from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαϊσμός (Ioudaïsmós), or with archaism, from Ancient Greek ἀρχαϊσμός (arkhaïsmós)).
More words from Latin, Koine Greek, Classical Syriac
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Manigeïsme
- Manigeïsmereligion
Arabic مَانَوِيَّة
- مَانَوِيَّة (mānawiyya)religion
Bulgarian манихейство
- манихейство (manihejstvo)religion
Catalan maniqueisme
- maniqueismereligion
Chinese Mandarin 摩尼教, 明教
- 摩尼教 (móníjiào)religion
- 明教 (míngjiào)religion
- 摩尼教 (móníjiào)philosophy
Czech manicheismus, manichejství
- manicheismusreligion
- manichejstvíreligion
Danish manikæisme
- manikæismereligion
Esperanto Maniĥeismo, Manikeismo
- Maniĥeismoreligion
- Manikeismoreligion
Estonian manilus, manihheism
- manilusreligion
- manihheismreligion
Finnish manikealaisuus, manikealaisuus
- manikealaisuusreligion
- manikealaisuusphilosophy
French manichéisme, manichaïsme
- manichéismereligion
- manichaïsmereligion
German Manichäismus
- Manichäismusreligion
Greek μανιχαϊσμός
- μανιχαϊσμός (manichaïsmós)religion
Hungarian manicheizmus
- manicheizmusreligion
Icelandic manikeismi
- manikeismireligion
Italian manicheismo
- manicheismoreligion
Japanese マニ教, 摩尼教
- マニ教religion
- 摩尼教 (Manikyō)religion
Korean 마니교
- 마니교 (manigyo)religion
Latin Manichaismus
- Manichaismusreligion
Persian مانویه
- مانویه (mânaviye)religion
Polish manicheizm, manicheizm
- manicheizmreligion
- manicheizmphilosophy
Portuguese maniqueísmo
- maniqueísmoreligion
Romanian maniheism
- maniheismreligion
Russian манихеизм, манихейство
- манихеизм (manixeizm)religion
- манихейство (manixejstvo)religion
Spanish maniqueísmo
- maniqueísmoreligion
Swedish manikeism
- manikeismreligion
Thai ศาสนามาณีกี
- ศาสนามาณีกีreligion
Turkish Manihaizm, Manicilik
- Manihaizmreligion
- Manicilikreligion
Vietnamese Ma Ni giáo, Mani giáo
- Ma Ni giáoreligion
- Mani giáoreligion
Cite this entry
Manichaeism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Manichaeism
“Manichaeism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Manichaeism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Manichaeism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Manichaeism.
Source: Manichaeism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.