orthodox

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈɔː.θə.dɒks/, US /ˈɔːr.θə.dɑːks/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French orthodoxe and directly Late Latin orthodoxus,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ὀρθόδοξος (orthódoxos, “having the right opinion”),^[2][3][5] from ὀρθός (orthós, “straight, right, true”) (see ortho-) and δόξα (dóxa, “opinion, praise”) (see doxology),^[2][3][5] from δοκέω (dokéō, “to seem”),^[3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *dek- (“to take, accept”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of theological opinion, regarded as correct: about 1454, as ortodox, and 1456, as orthodoxe;^[2] the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was applied to subjects other than religion from the 1640s,^[3][6] and meant conventional or approved from 1838.^[6] As the name of the Eastern Church it is from 1679 in the OED, 1772 in Barnhart and Etymonline;^[6][2][3] it first distinguished that Church from groups within it that differed in doctrine.^[2] Of Judaism adhering strictly to rabbinical law it is from 1853,^[3][6] and an Orthodox Jew is an Orthodox by 1889.^[3] Orthodoxy is from the 17th century.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1454 – orthodox (theology).^[2]
• 1640s – of other subjects.^[3]
• 1679 – the Eastern Church.^[6]
• 1838 – conventional.^[6]
• 1853 – Orthodox Judaism.^[3][6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Conforming to established or accepted beliefs and standards, especially in religion.
2. Conventional; generally approved.
3. Conforming to the Christian faith as set out in the early creeds.
4. (usually capitalized) Of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
5. (sometimes capitalized) Of Orthodox Judaism, which strictly observes rabbinical law and tradition.

Noun

1. An orthodox person.
2. A member of an Eastern Orthodox church.

Word family

• orthodoxly
• orthodoxness
• antiorthodox
• hyperorthodox

Related words

• Eastern Orthodox
• Greek Orthodox
• orthodoxy
• Russian Orthodox Church
• heterodox
• paradox
• doxology
• ortho-

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press