1
- chiefly derogatory a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do〈主贬〉异教徒（尤指基督教徒、犹太教徒、伊斯兰教徒等眼中的非本教人士）：
bringing Christianity to the heathens.
把基督教传给异教徒。
1.1
- a follower of a polytheistic religion; a pagan多神教徒; 异教徒。
1.2
- mass noun
the heathen
heathen people collectively, especially (in biblical use) those who did not worship the God of Israel总称异教徒（尤指《圣经》中不信以色列上帝者）。
1.3
- informal an unenlightened person; a person regarded as lacking culture or moral principles〈非正式〉未开化的人; 无文化修养的人; 无道德准则的人。
- of or relating to heathens（与）异教（有关）的：
heathen gods.
异教诸神。
派生词
heathendom
nounheathenish
adjectiveheathenism
noun词源
Old English hǣthen, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heiden and German Heide; generally regarded as a specifically Christian use of a Germanic adjective meaning'inhabiting open country', from the base of HEATH.