English
indifferentism
Indifferentism comes from Latin indifferēns ‘indifferent’, from differēns ‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-1‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti1‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō1‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō1‘to bear’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferō1‘to carry different ways, spread, scatter, disperse, separate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferēns1‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindifferēns1‘indifferent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400indifferent1
- English1500–presentindifferent1
- Englishearliest quotation 1884indifferentism1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English indifferentism
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1884, Vernon Lee: “A creature, so to speak, only half awake, or…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-Wiktionary, English indifferentism‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéretiWiktionary, English indifferentism‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferōWiktionary, English indifferentism‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferōWiktionary, English indifferentism‘to bear’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferōWiktionary, English indifferentism‘to carry different ways, spread, scatter, disperse, separate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferēnsWiktionary, English indifferentism‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindifferēnsWiktionary, English indifferentism‘indifferent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400indifferentWiktionary, English indifferentism
- English1500–presentindifferentWiktionary, English indifferentism
- Englishearliest quotation 1884indifferentismWiktionary, English indifferentism. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1884, Vernon Lee: “A creature, so to speak, only half awake, or…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, bread, fortune, prefer, burden, bearing, barrel, barn, fury, baron, bark, bore, breeze, broom, barrow, embargo, berth, fret, ferret, insufferable, furtive, bier, bahar, birr, bairn, barrette, proffer, burnish, 113 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to be carrying’
bear, borne, phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, phosphine, 91 more
through Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
suffering, infertility, infertile, 67 more
through Latin ferō ‘to bear’
offer, transfer, translation, reference, relative, extraordinary, relate, relation, suffer, translate, frustration, strangely, referee, fertility, referendum, extravagant, fertile, frustrate, elated, confer, extraneous, infra, fertilization, infer, differentiation, ablation, elation, strangeness, deference, collation, collate, fertilize, oblate, ablative, estrange, deferential, differentially, differentiable, efferent, differentiator, 70 more
through Latin differō ‘to carry different ways, spread, scatter,…’
differently, differ, defer, dilate, 41 more
through Latin differēns ‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’
Today it means
noun The doctrine that all religions are equally valid.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “indifferentism”. 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 *bʰer- / indifferentism