English → Latin
“pagan” in Latin
īdōlolatrēsAn idol worshipper, idolater.pāgānusof or pertaining to the countryside, rural, rustic; rustic, unlearned; pagan, heathengentīlisof or belonging to the same family or gēns: kinsman; of or relating to a tribe or clan: clansman, tribesman; of or belonethnicusheathen; paganexperswithout, lacking in, deprived (+ genitive or ablative); freed from, exempted, immune; excluded, not participant (+ genitfalsusdeceived, tricked, cheated, disappointed, having been deceived; mistaken, having been mistaken, having deceived myself;
The English word pagan itself goes back to Latin pāgus, through pāgānus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
pagan
idololatra (Tert.); paganus (Augustin; in classical Latin, of a village, villager): gentilis, ethnicus (ecclesiastical); non Christianus (Tert.); *doctrinae Christianae, or sacrorum Christianorum, expers; *falsorum or adumbratorum deorum cultor.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for pagan?
- The usual Latin words for “pagan” are īdōlolatrēs, pāgānus, gentīlis; also ethnicus, expers, falsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.