pagan : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: pagan	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for pagan
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
pagan adj not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam Synonym(s): heathen, heathenish, pagan, ethnic n a person who does not acknowledge your god [syn: heathen, pagan, gentile, infidel] a person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion (not a Christian or Muslim or Jew) someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures Synonym(s): hedonist, pagan, pleasure seeker
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Pagan \Pa"gan\, a. [L. paganus of or pertaining to the country, pagan. See {Pagan}, n.] Of or pertaining to pagans; relating to the worship or the worshipers of false goods; heathen; idolatrous, as, pagan tribes or superstitions. And all the rites of pagan honor paid. --Dryden.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Pagan \Pa"gan\ (p[amac]"g[ait]n), n. [L. paganus a countryman, peasant, villager, a pagan, fr. paganus of or pertaining to the country, rustic, also, pagan, fr. pagus a district, canton, the country, perh. orig., a district with fixed boundaries: cf. pangere to fasten. Cf. {Painim}, {Peasant}, and {Pact}, also {Heathen}.] One who worships false gods; an idolater; a heathen; one who is neither a Christian, a Mohammedan, nor a Jew. Neither having the accent of Christians, nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man. --Shak. Syn: Gentile; heathen; idolater. Usage: {Pagan}, {Gentile}, {Heathen}. Gentile was applied to the other nations of the earth as distinguished from the Jews. Pagan was the name given to idolaters in the early Christian church, because the villagers, being most remote from the centers of instruction, remained for a long time unconverted. Heathen has the same origin. Pagan is now more properly applied to rude and uncivilized idolaters, while heathen embraces all who practice idolatry.