Standard Lemma guide

heathendom

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈhiː.ðn̩.dəm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being heathen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • The priest argued to the king that unless clerics accompanied the colony ship, the colony would soon descend into heathendom and barbarity.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

From one religion's or creed's perspective, the rest of the world that does not follow that creed or religion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • My aunt considered all of Europe to be heathendom, and refused to visit us in Amsterdam on religious grounds.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Specifically, the non-Christian world; territories where Christianity is not the dominant religion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, uncountable, usually

Examples

  • The Crusaders meant to wrest Jerusalem from heathendom, but they managed to pillage a number of lands in Christendom along the way.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The collection of people who follow Heathenry, a modern pagan faith inspired by the pre-Abrahamic religions of Germanic tribes, Anglo-Saxons and Norse peoples.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Germanic, capitalized, sometimes, uncountable, usually

Topics: lifestyle, paganism, religion

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English hæthendom, from Old English hǣþendōm; equivalent to heathen + -dom. OED records a single attestation in the period between 1230 and 1840, a (nonce?) occurrence in J. Law, Proposals and reasons for constituting a council of trade in Scotland (1701, p. 233). Otherwise replaced by Middle English hethenesse in the later Middle English period and heathenism in the 17th and 18th centuries. Cognate with Dutch heidendom, Old High German heidentuom (German Heidentum), Old Norse heiðindómr (Swedish hedendom).

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: heidendom — state of being heathen
  • Middle English: myscreaunce — state of being heathen
  • Dutch: heidendom — from one religion's or creed's perspective, the rest of the world that does not follow that creed or religion
  • Dutch: heidendom — non-Christian world
  • Middle English: payenie — non-Christian world
  • Middle English: hethenesse — non-Christian world
  • Middle English: paynym — non-Christian world
  • Dutch: heidendom — worldwide community that follows Heathenry