ˈherəsē, -si noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English eresie, heresie, from Old French, from Late Latin haeresis, from Late Greek hairesis, from Greek, action of taking, choice, sect, from hairein to take + -sis; perhaps akin to Greek hormē assault, attack — more at serum
1.
a. : adherence to a religious opinion that is contrary to an established dogma of a church : heterodoxy
was convicted of heresy … because of his belief in the preexistence of souls — H.E.Starr
— opposed to orthodoxy
b. : a deliberate and obstinate denial of a revealed truth by a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church — compare inquisition 3a
c. : an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma
all the great heresies … in Christianity have been specifically concerned with the relationship of the Son to the Father — Weston La Barre
2.
a. : dissent from a dominant theory or opinion in any field
so much that used to be scientific heresy is now regarded as scientific truth — Elmer Davis
preaching heresy to the good Jeffersonian progressives of his day — C.B.Forcey
b. : an opinion or doctrine contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs
our democratic heresy which holds that … truth is to be found by majority vote — M.W.Straight
3. : a group or school of thought centering around a particular heresy
favoring the German school of historians and other heresies of similar nature — A.G.Mayous