Itself deriving from classical latin pagus which originally meant region delimited by markers, paganus had also come to mean of or relating to the countryside, country dweller, villager. By that time the word had long been in use with various meanings. The traditional view of paganus is that its obvious derivation from pagus and its original sense in classical latin rustic, hick governed its adoption by christian writers. Dictionary of american family names 20, oxford university press. Information and translations of pagan in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. In the later western roman empire, following the reorganization of diocletian, a pagus became the smallest administrative district of a province. A somewhat vague term derived from from the latin word paganus. Pagan pronunciation in english cambridge dictionary. Latdict currently boasts 39,225 latin word entries, and 229,345 searchable english words. Learn more in the cambridge englishspanish dictionary. A peasant is a member of a traditional class of farmers, either laborers or owners of small farms, especially in the middle ages under feudalism, or more generally, in any preindustrial society. Pagandom definition, the part of the world inhabited by pagans.
Many converted societies transformed their pagan deities into saints. Pagano, payan, hagan, fagan, organ, magan, logan, panas, page, wogan. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Feb 12, 2012 names have origins and people have nationalities. Literally translated from scottish dialect, the words auld lang syne mean old long since, or, in more familiar terms, days gone by. Paganism is a term that developed among the christian community of southern europe during late. The national endowment for the humanities provided support for entering this text. Pagan from latin paganus an inhabitant of the country, a villager. In spite of counterarguments supported by harnack, this is the view taken by the most comprehensive survey of the question, that of j. Definition of pagan merriamwebsters student dictionary. Paganism a brief overview of the history of paganism the term. Look up a word, add or modify an entry, and learn words at your own rhythm from a personal learning list. To search out its origins we have to delve into roman military slang.
Pagan comes from the latin paganus, which is a noun meaning villager or an adjective meaning of the village. A very valuable resource for students and specialists. Word history in ancient rome a person living in a rural area or village was called paganus, a word derived from the latin noun pagus, meaning village, district. Pagan beliefs and activities do not belong to any of the main religions of the world. An etymological dictionary of the german language 1891 by friedrich kluge, translated by john francis davis. Jan 14, 2020 origins of the word pagan pagan comes from a latin word paganus, meaning villager, rustic, civilian, and itself comes from a pagus which refers to a small unit of land in a rural district. Download our free dictionary for windows or android and browse both the latin english and the english latin lists. Dicionario ingles collins collins english dictionary. Pagan, noun latin paganus, a peasant or countryman, from pagus, a village. However, it is most often used in religious terms to refer to polytheistic, prechristian peoples. In the 14th century, english borrowed the latin paganus as pagan, and used it with the same meaning. It was a demeaning latin term like the word hick, that originally lacked a religious significance. Pagan definition, no longer in technical use one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient romans and greeks.
In latin texts, a canton of the helvetic confederacy is rendered pagus. Defining pagan in the modern world hesperides garden. In time paganus came to refer to a civilian as opposed to a soldier. From this came paganus, a country dweller or villager, the opposite of urbanus, someone who lived in a town. The process of cooking sousvide literally translates from french to mean under vacuum. Relating to, characteristic of religions that differ from main world religions. Another definition supported by random house dictionary was that it was derived from the latin word pagus or village and thus referred to a countrydweller. When christianity began to grow in the roman empire, it did so at first primarily in the cities.
It is true that latin h initially requires, according to the laws of substitution. Free englishlatin dictionary and translator freelang. An etymological dictionary of the german languageannotatedh. Welcome to the latin dictionary, the largest and most complete online latin dictionary with a conjugator and a declension tool included. The pagus was the equivalent of what englishspeaking historians sometimes refer to as the carolingian shire, which in german is the gau. Several latin dictionaries currently exist on the web, but most of them provide raw, cryptic or otherwise. The welsh successor kingdom of powys derived its name from pagus or pagenses, and gives its name to the modern welsh county. Lewis 1891 an elementary latin dictionary, new york. In latin, one meaning of the word pagus was that of a country district or a rural area. Smiths dictionary says of it, the meaning of this word cannot be given in. A heathen a gentile an idolater one who worships false gods. Websters dictionary 1828 websters dictionary 1828 pagan. Pagan is a term which refers to a variety of different religions ranging from wicca, to that of ancient egypt and even hinduism, among many others. Latdict is a powerful dictionary tool to aid those wishing to lookup latin words or their english equivalents.
Origin pagan 2 01400 late latin paganus, from latin, someone who lives in the country, from pagus country area exercises vocabulary exercises help you to learn synonyms, collocations and idioms. Click here to learn more about the features or scroll down to download the. Paganus was roman military jargon for civilian, incompetent soldier and rising christians used this imagery to refer to those who were not soldiers of christ. Paganism 1910 new catholic dictionary bible dictionary. Pagan definition and meaning collins english dictionary. From the latin word paganus, pagan literally translates to country dweller. Founded on andrews edition of freunds latin dictionary.