theologian

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French theologien, now théologien,^[2][3][4][5] recorded in French from the 14th century,^[2][4] formed from theologie (“theology”) with a suffix corresponding to -an;^[3][6] the OED also allows Latin theologia as a source.^[2] The English spelling was then brought closer to Latin, after words in -logian.^[2] Dictionary.com takes it as formed from theology and -an, replacing the earlier French form.^[7] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek θεολογία (theología, “an account of the gods”), from θεολόγος (theológos, “one who discourses on the gods”).^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Someone versed in theology: 1483, in Caxton's translation of Cato.^[2] Etymonline also dates it to the late 15th century,^[4] Dictionary.com to 1475–85.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense of an expert in theology, especially Christian theology.^[2][4] From 1603 it was occasionally used of writers on pagan religions,^[2] and in the Roman Catholic Church a canon theologian is a canon who teaches theology, from 1885.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "a divine; a professor of divinity".^[8] Etymonline lists rarer rivals: theologue (early 15th century), theologician (1550s), theologer (1580s) and theologist (1630s), and theologaster (1620s) for a petty theologian.^[4]

Timeline

• 1483 – one versed in theology; a divine.^[2]
• 1603 – a writer on pagan religion (rare).^[2]
• 1885 – canon theologian, in the Roman Catholic Church.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An expert in theology, especially Christian theology; a person who studies, teaches or writes on it.^[9][3][2]
2. (Roman Catholic Church) A candidate for the priesthood studying theology.^[3]

Related words

• theological
• theology
• theologue

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins