Hea"then (hē"&thlig;'n), a.
1. Gentile; pagan; as, a
heathen author. "The heathen philosopher." "All in gold, like
heathen gods." Shak.
2. Barbarous;
unenlightened; heathenish.
3. Irreligious;
scoffing.
Hea"then (hē"&thlig;'n; 277), n.;
pl. Heathens (-&thlig;'nz) or
collectively Heathen. [OE. hethen, AS. h&aemacr;ðen, prop. an
adj. fr. h&aemacr;ð heath, and orig., therefore, one who lives in
the country or on the heaths
and in the
woods (cf. pagan, fr. pagus village); akin to OS. hēðin, adj., D. heiden a heathen, G. heide, OHG.
heidan, Icel. heiðinn, adj., Sw.
heden, Goth. haiþnō, n. fem. See Heath, and cf. Hoiden.]
1. An individual of the pagan
or unbelieving nations, or those which worship idols and do not acknowledge the true God; a pagan; an idolater.
2. An irreligious person.
If it is no more than
a moral discourse, he may preach it
and they may hear it, and yet both
continue unconverted
heathens.
V. Knox.
The heathen, as the term is used in the
Scriptures, all people except the Jews; now used of all
people except Christians,
Jews, and Mohammedans.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance.
Ps. ii. 8.
Syn. -- Pagan; gentile. See Pagan.
Hear it pronounced