Meanings
plural monotheisms · alternative mono-theism
- countableobsoleteuncountableBelief in the One True God, defined by More as personal, immaterial and trinitarian.
- countableuncountableThe belief that God is one person (Judaism, Unitarian Christianity, Islam), not three persons (Trinitarian Christianity, Hinduism)
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*men-
- Proto-Hellenic*mónwos
- Ancient Greekμόνος (mónos)
- Ancient Greekμονο- (mono-)
- Englishmono-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰéh₁s
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁sós
- Proto-Hellenic*tʰehós
- Ancient Greekθεός (theós)
- Ancient Greekθεο- (theo-)
- Latintheo-
- Englishtheo-
- Englishtheism
- Englishmonotheism
A learned 17th-century coinage, mono- + theism, from (μονός (monós, “one”)) and (θεός (theós, “god, deity”) + -ισμός (-ismós)) The term parallels the earlier polytheism, atheism (the simplex theism being slightly later). The term was coined by Henry More, ca. 1660, in explicit juxtaposition with both atheism and polytheism. It was redefined through etymological fallacy by Daniel Webster ca. 1828.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَوْحِيد
- تَوْحِيد (tawḥīd)belief in one God
Bengali একেশ্বরবাদ
- একেশ্বরবাদ (ekeśśorbad)belief in one God
Bulgarian монотеи́зъм, единобо́жие
- монотеи́зъм (monoteízăm)belief in one God
- единобо́жие (edinobóžie)belief in one God
Catalan monoteisme
- monoteismebelief in one God
Chinese Mandarin 一神教, 一神論 /一神论
- 一神教 (yīshénjiào)belief in one God
- 一神論 /一神论 (yīshénlùn)belief in one God
Czech monoteismus, jednobožství
- monoteismusbelief in one God
- jednobožstvíbelief in one God
Danish monoteisme
- monoteismebelief in one God
Dutch monotheïsme
- monotheïsmebelief in one God
Esperanto monoteismo, unudiismo
- monoteismobelief in one God
- unudiismobelief in one God
Estonian monoteism
- monoteismbelief in one God
Finnish monoteismi
- monoteismibelief in one God
French monothéisme
- monothéismebelief in one God
German Monotheismus
- Monotheismusbelief in one God
Greek μονοθεϊσμός
- μονοθεϊσμός (monotheïsmós)belief in one God
Hebrew מוֹנוֹתֵאִיזְם
- מוֹנוֹתֵאִיזְם (monote'izm)belief in one God
Hindi एकेश्वरवाद
- एकेश्वरवाद (ekeśvarvād)belief in one God
Hungarian egyistenhit, monoteizmus
- egyistenhitbelief in one God
- monoteizmusbelief in one God
Icelandic eingyðistrú
- eingyðistrúbelief in one God
Indonesian monoteisme
- monoteismebelief in one God
Irish aondiachas
- aondiachasbelief in one God
Japanese 一神教
- 一神教 (isshinkyō)belief in one God
Korean 일신교, 일신론
- 일신교 (ilsin'gyo)belief in one God
- 일신론 (ilsinnon)belief in one God
Latin monotheïsmus
- monotheïsmusbelief in one God
Lithuanian monoteizmas
- monoteizmasbelief in one God
Malay monoteisme, tauhid
- monoteismebelief in one God
- tauhidbelief in one God
Persian یکتاپرستی, توحید
- یکتاپرستی (yektâparasti)belief in one God
- توحید (towhid)belief in one God
Polish monoteizm, jedynobóstwo
- monoteizmbelief in one God
- jedynobóstwobelief in one God
Portuguese monoteísmo
- monoteísmobelief in one God
Punjabi ਅਦਵੈਤਵਾਦ
- ਅਦਵੈਤਵਾਦ (adavaitvād)belief in one God
Romanian monoteism
- monoteismbelief in one God
Russian монотеи́зм, единобо́жие
- монотеи́зм (monotɛízm)belief in one God
- единобо́жие (jedinobóžije)belief in one God
Slovak monoteizmus, jednobožstvo
- monoteizmusbelief in one God
- jednobožstvobelief in one God
Spanish monoteísmo
- monoteísmobelief in one God
Swedish monoteism, engudstro
- monoteismbelief in one God
- engudstrobelief in one God
Thai เอกเทวนิยม
- เอกเทวนิยม (èek-gà-tee-wá-ní-yom)belief in one God
Turkish tek tanrıcılık, monoteizm
- tek tanrıcılıkbelief in one God
- monoteizmbelief in one God
Ukrainian монотеї́зм, єдинобо́жжя
- монотеї́зм (monotejízm)belief in one God
- єдинобо́жжя (jedynobóžžja)belief in one God
Urdu توحید, واحدانیت
- توحید (tauhīd)belief in one God
- واحدانیت (vāhdāniyat)belief in one God
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
monotheism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotheism
“monotheism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotheism. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monotheism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotheism.
Source: monotheism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.