What does heathen mean?
“Heathen” originally referred to someone who was not a Christian, especially a member of a pre-Christian northern European people. In that historical sense, the word can describe non-Christian peoples, their religions, gods, or territories. Over time, it acquired broader and more dismissive associations, coming to describe someone considered uncultured, ignorant, or outside the norms of a supposedly civilized society. The word is now chiefly encountered in historical texts, literary quotations, or discussions of religious prejudice, because it can be offensive when applied to actual non-Christian communities. As an adjective, “heathen” can modify nouns such as “gods,” “lands,” and “tribes.” Modern speakers generally prefer more precise terms, including “pagan,” “non-Christian,” “indigenous,” or the name of the particular religion or people being discussed. Its unusual history makes it useful for understanding how religious difference and cultural superiority have been expressed in English.
A person who is not a Christian, especially one who follows a pre-Christian religion; historically, a member of a pre-Christian Germanic or other northern European people. The term may also be used disparagingly for an uncultured or ignorant person.
"The text presents a highly negative portrayal of the heathens it encounters."
Historical and literary uses should be understood in context. The term is often offensive when used to refer to actual non-Christian peoples or religions.
Relating to or characteristic of a non-Christian religion or people; informally, uncultured, ignorant, or supposedly barbarous.
"The poem invokes a heathen god in a setting shaped by older European religious traditions."
The evaluative meaning is now chiefly literary, dated, and derogatory.
The regular plural is “heathens,” though historical writers also used the singular form collectively. Because the word can be offensive when directed at non-Christian people, modern usage is usually limited to historical, literary, or explicitly critical discussion.
"The account describes the region as a land of heathens, reflecting the hostile outlook of its Christian author."
Once a broad religious label, “heathen” has become a word best handled carefully: history matters, but so does the dignity of people it was used to dismiss.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does heathen come from?
“Heathen” descends from Old English hǣþen, a term used for people who were not Christian, particularly Germanic peoples associated with the pre-Christian north. The word continued in Middle English as hethen and developed its modern spelling and broader derogatory uses over the centuries. Its Germanic relatives connect it with the same non-Christian world and with English words such as “heath” and “heather”; “pagan,” by contrast, entered English through Latin and follows a separate etymological route.
Related word forms
How heathen is actually used
The word is archaic and often offensive when used to refer to non-Christian people, particularly Indigenous peoples or followers of religions other than Christianity. In older writing, it may appear in historical, literary, or quoted contexts. Its informal figurative use as a disparaging term for an ignorant or uncivilized person is chiefly literary, dated, and insulting.
Easily confused with heathen
A heath is an area of uncultivated land covered with low vegetation, whereas a heathen is, historically, a person outside Christianity or, in modern informal use, an uncultured person.