— heathendom , n. — heathenhood , n. — heathenness , n. — heathenship , n.
/hee"dheuhn/ , n. , pl. heathens, heathen , adj.
n.
1. an unconverted individual of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a person who is neither a Jew, Christian, nor Muslim; pagan.
2. an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person.
adj.
3. of or pertaining to heathens; pagan.
4. irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.
[ bef. 900; ME hethen, OE haethen, akin to G Heide, heidnisch (adj.), ON heithingi (n.), heithinn (adj.), Goth haithno (n.); perh. akin to HEATH ]
Syn. 3. heathenish, barbarous. HEATHEN, PAGAN are both applied to peoples who are not Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. HEATHEN is often distinctively applied to unenlightened or barbaric idolaters, esp. to primitive or ancient tribes: heathen rites, idols. PAGAN, though applied to any of the peoples not worshiping according to the three religions mentioned above, is most frequently used in speaking of the ancient Greeks and Romans: a pagan poem; a pagan civilization. 4. philistine; savage.
Ant. 4. sophisticated, urbane, cultured.