Other forms: heathens
A heathen is somebody who follows none of the main religions. Convert the heathen, called them heathens, a heathen practice.
It is an old missionary word and always a judgement made from inside a faith looking out, which is why it is avoided in serious writing now. It means the same as pagan, and both once meant simply somebody from the countryside, where the old religions lasted.
1nounheathenSomebody who follows none of the main religions.
“The missionaries set out to convert the people they called heathens.”
heathen is a person.
Also accepted in games: pagan
Old English haethen probably comes from haeth, a heath — a dweller on the heath, away from the towns.
Middle English
hethen
English, today
heathen
From Middle English hethen. From Middle English hethen, from Old English hǣþen, from Proto-West Germanic haiþin, from Proto-Germanic haiþīnaz (“heathen, pagan”), equivalent to heath + -en. Cognate with West Frisian heiden, Dutch heiden, Middle High German heiden, German Heiden, German Heide, Swedish heden, Danish hedensk (from heden + sk), Icelandic heiðinn. See also Proto-Germanic haiduz, Old Norse heiðr, Icelandic heiður.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA