Etymograph

English

monotheism

Monotheism comes from Ancient Greek θεός ‘a deity’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁s1‘god, godhead, deity’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁sós1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰehós1‘god, deity’reconstructed
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθεός1theós‘a deity’
  6. English1500–presenttheism1
  7. Englishtodaymonotheism1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English monotheism

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, English monotheism‘to do’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁sWiktionary, English monotheism‘god, godhead, deity’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁sósWiktionary, English monotheismreconstructed
  4. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰehósWiktionary, English monotheism‘god, deity’reconstructed
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθεόςWiktionary, English monotheismtheós‘a deity’
  6. English1500–presenttheismWiktionary, English monotheism
  7. EnglishtodaymonotheismWiktionary, English monotheism

The story

A learned 17th-century coinage, mono- + theism, from (μονός (monós, “one”)) and (θεός (theós, “god, deity”) + -ισμός (-ismós)) The term parallels the earlier polytheism, atheism (the simplex theism being slightly later). The term was coined by Henry More, ca. 1660, in explicit juxtaposition with both atheism and polytheism. It was redefined through etymological fallacy by Daniel Webster ca. 1828.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’

do, fact, deal, hot, defense, fan, benefit, feature, mid, fashion, defence, custom, sufficient, theme, treasury, treasure, ethnic, defendant, ethical, doom, tick, deed, aesthetic, synthetic, thesis, auditorium, auditor, demi, ethic, deem, spade, familial, medial, forfeit, ethos, prefect, certify, thematic, duma, medallion, 112 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s ‘god, godhead, deity’

fair, feast, dis, feral, fanatic, profanity, profane, fane, fayre, 22 more

through Ancient Greek θεός ‘a deity’

theology, atheist, atheism, apotheosis, polytheism, theist, pantheism, 15 more

Today it means

noun Belief in the One True God, defined by More as personal, immaterial and trinitarian.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “monotheism”. 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- / monotheism

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