Etymograph

English

paganism

Paganism comes from Latin pāgānismus ‘heathenism’, from pāgānus ‘peasant, rural, rustic’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- ‘to fasten, fix’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-1‘to fasten, fix’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāgus2‘area outside of a city, countryside’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāgānus3‘peasant, rural, rustic’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāgānismus3‘heathenism’
  5. Englishtodaypaganism3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pagus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin paganus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English paganism

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-Wiktionary, Latin pagus‘to fasten, fix’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāgusWiktionary, Latin paganus‘area outside of a city, countryside’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāgānusWiktionary, English paganism‘peasant, rural, rustic’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāgānismusWiktionary, English paganism‘heathenism’
  5. EnglishtodaypaganismWiktionary, English paganism

The story

The term was used pejoratively by local Orthodox Christian Demonyms to belittle what remained of alternative native ideas and ideals.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- ‘to fasten, fix’

travel, page, pole, compact, pale, peel, propaganda, propagate, travail, pala, pectin, impinge, palisade, pagination, impactor, 29 more

through Latin pāgus ‘area outside of a city, countryside’

peasant, 6 more

Today it means

noun Any indigenous polytheistic religion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “paganism”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin pagus, Latin paganus. 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 *peh₂ǵ- / paganism

Shirt and support for this word