What did pagan originally mean?

Answer 1

This word is really interesting.

It originates in the Latin word pagus - which meant 'country district'. That word led the Romans to call a rural person paganus. This then came to mean a civilian - as the people the Roman army encountered were generally countrypeople and also not in the army.

When Christianity 'inherited' Latin the word paganus took on the meaning of someone not in the army of Christ.

This word became pagan in English

From that word we get the word propaganda - coming from a commission of the Church whcih was charged with spreading the faith to the pagans..... congregatio de propaganda fide.

Pagan comes from a Latin word paganus, meaning villager, rustic, civilian, and itself comes from paguswhich refers to a rural district.

Answer 2

The word pagan is derived from the Latin word paganus, meaning "rural, rustic." It is cognate with the English heathen, which originally meant the same thing.

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. Some Pagans are of no specific religion, but rather are eclectic. In general Pagan religions have more than one deity, or many gods which are aspects of one (an idea similar to that of the Christian trinity). Another quite common feature of Pagan religions are that they tend to be nature oriented. Pagan can also be used as a derogatory word for any non-Judeo/Christian/Islamic religion.

Answer 3

The word pagan comes from a Latin word meaning rural or people living outside the cities, in contrast to the word urban which comes from a Latin word meaning people living inside a city.

It acquired the meaning of nonchristian at a time when most christians in the Roman Empire lived in the cities and controlled the Roman Empire but most people outside the cities were not christians.

Answer 4

The original meaning of the term 'Pagan' comes from the Latin Pagani, meaning from the heath.