A person who doesn't follow one of the major world religions, or something considered uncivilized or crude by mainstream standards.
From Old English 'hǽðen,' related to Germanic words meaning 'not following any religion.' The word originally referred to people outside of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, with roots in Proto-Germanic languages.
The word 'heathen' shows how language reflects power—whoever wrote the history books got to decide who was civilized and who wasn't. Medieval writers labeled anyone with different beliefs as heathens, but modern scholars recognize those 'heathens' often had complex, sophisticated cultures.
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