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deism

Etymology and origin of the English word deism

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdiːɪz(ə)m/, /ˈdeɪɪz(ə)m/[1]

Etymology

It was formed from deist and -ism,[2][3] influenced by French déisme,[4][2][3][5] from Latin deus (“god”).[4][2][3][5] Deist (1621) is from French déiste.[2][3] It is related to deity.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Belief in a Supreme Being as the source of existence, based on reason, with rejection of revelation (1682).[2][3][6][7]

Semantic evolution

Deism was a rationalist theology prominent in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, arguing that natural religion was sufficient without Scripture or revelation.[3] Until about 1700 the word was opposed to atheism; later it became the opposite of theism, with which it is etymologically equivalent.[3] It came to mean especially belief in a God who created the world and then left it to itself.[4][6][5]

Timeline

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Belief, based on reason alone, in a God who created the universe but does not intervene in it or reveal himself supernaturally.
  2. (often capitalized) The 17th- and 18th-century movement advocating natural religion.

Word family

  • deist
  • deistic
  • deistically
  • deistical
  • theism
  • deity
  • atheism

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that the word is often capitalized when it refers to the 17th- and 18th-century movement.[1]

References

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

“Deism.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/deism. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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