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agnostic

Etymology and origin of the English word agnostic

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /aɡˈnɒstɪk/ (UK); /æɡˈnɑstɪk/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It was coined by the biologist Thomas H. Huxley in 1869[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἄγνωστος (ágnōstos, “unknown, unknowable”),[3][4][6][5] from a- “not” and gnōstós “known”,[3][4][6] after Gnostic.[2][5][4] Huxley said he meant it as the opposite of the Gnostics of church history, who claimed to know so much about the things of which he was ignorant.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who holds that the existence of anything beyond material phenomena is unknown and probably unknowable (1870).[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Huxley coined the word for himself, as a man without a label among fellow intellectuals who had embraced various doctrines.[2] The adjective is recorded from 1870 in Etymonline and 1873 in Merriam-Webster and the OED.[4][6][7] The word broadened to mean noncommittal or undogmatic about anything,[2][6][5] and in computing, able to work with various systems or components.[1]

Timeline

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who believes that the existence of God cannot be proved but does not deny that God may exist.
  2. A person who doubts the possibility of ultimate knowledge in some area, or is unwilling to commit to an opinion.

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to agnostics or agnosticism.
  2. Noncommittal or undogmatic.
  3. Of a device or program, not tied to any particular system or component.

Word family

  • agnostically
  • agnosticism

Usage notes

Random House refers agnostic to its synonym discussion at atheist.[5] Etymonline quotes Robert Ingersoll: the agnostic does not simply say “I do not know”, but adds that you do not know either.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Agnostic.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/agnostic. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·