theism

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek θεός (theós, “god”), with the suffix -ism.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Etymonline explains it as theist plus -ism,^[7] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged as the- plus -ism.^[8] The OED compares French théisme, used by Voltaire.^[2] Klein traces the Greek noun to Proto-Indo-European *dhes- (“holy”), with Latin fānum (“temple”) and fēriae (“holy days”),^[9] which makes it a relative of fane and feast.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Belief in a god or gods, as opposed to atheism: 1678, in R. Cudworth's True Intellectual System of the Universe.^[2][3][8] Etymonline says the 1670s.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Against atheism it meant belief in any deity; by 1711 it stood against polytheism, as belief in one god; and by 1714 against deism, as belief in God as creator and ruler of the universe, which Etymonline calls the usual modern sense.^[7][2] The agent noun theist is recorded earlier (1610s in Etymonline, 1662 in the OED and Barnhart), and its first sense was the one later reserved for deist: someone who believes in a transcendent god but denies revelation.^[7][3]

Timeline

• 1678 – belief in a deity or deities, as opposed to atheism.^[2][3]
• 1711 – belief in one god, as opposed to polytheism.^[7]
• 1714 – belief in God as creator and ruler of the universe, as opposed to deism.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. Belief in the existence of a god or gods, as opposed to atheism.^[10][8][4]
2. Belief in one God who created the world, stands above it and yet is active in it, as distinct from deism and pantheism.^[8][4][10]
3. A system of thought founded on belief in one or more gods.^[8]

Word family

• theist
• theistically
• theistic

Related words

• atheism
• thearchy
• theo-
• theocracy
• theology
• theosophy
• deism
• monotheism
• polytheism
• pantheism
• enthusiasm
• apotheosis

Usage notes

The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, says that theism assumes a living relation of God to his creatures without defining it, and differs from deism, which denies revelation.^[7] Collins, however, defines one sense of theism as a belief in God that need not include belief in revelation.^[10]

The OED, the Shorter Oxford, Klein and Etymonline also list an unrelated theism, recorded from 1886: a morbid condition with headache, sleeplessness and palpitations caused by drinking too much tea, formed from New Latin Thea (“tea”) and -ism, and now rare.^[2][4][9][7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins