English
atheist
Atheist comes from Latin atheos ‘an atheist’, from Ancient Greek ἄθεος ‘godless, without god’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁s1‘god, godhead, deity’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁sós1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰehós1‘god, deity’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθεός1theós‘god’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄθεος1átheos‘godless, without god’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEatheos1‘an atheist’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600athéiste1
- Englishearliest quotation 1571atheist1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English atheist
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1571, Arthur Golding, The Epistle Dedicatory: “Ageine, the Atheistes, which say in their hartes there…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, English atheist‘to do’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁sWiktionary, English atheist‘god, godhead, deity’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁sósWiktionary, English atheistreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰehósWiktionary, English atheist‘god, deity’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθεόςWiktionary, English atheisttheós‘god’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄθεοςWiktionary, English atheistátheos‘godless, without god’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEatheosWiktionary, English atheist‘an atheist’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600athéisteWiktionary, English atheist
- Englishearliest quotation 1571atheistWiktionary, English atheist. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1571, Arthur Golding, The Epistle Dedicatory: “Ageine, the Atheistes, which say in their hartes there…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, mid, feature, defence, sufficient, treasury, custom, treasure, theme, ethnic, defendant, ethical, doom, tick, deed, synthetic, auditorium, aesthetic, auditor, thesis, demi, deem, spade, ethic, familial, medial, forfeit, ethos, thematic, 117 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s ‘god, godhead, deity’
through Proto-Hellenic *tʰehós ‘god, deity’
through Ancient Greek θεός ‘god’
Today it means
noun A person who does not believe in deities or gods.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “atheist”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / atheist