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theological

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /θɪəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkl/[1]
  • US: /θi.əˈlɑd͡ʒɪkl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin theologicālis,[2][3][4][5] a word used by Duns Scotus before 1308,[2] formed on Late Latin theologicus (“theological”) with the suffix that became -al.[2][6] The Late Latin adjective comes from Ancient Greek θεολογικός (theologikós),[7][4][6] from θεολογία (theología), the source of theology.[3][4][7] Merriam-Webster also allows a borrowing of theologique with the English suffix,[8] and Johnson (1755) gave the French and Latin words as its source.[9] The Shorter Oxford notes that in Late Latin the adjective was used of non-Christian systems.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to theology: early 15th century, spelled theologicalle, in Etymonline;[3] the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English date it to late Middle English,[7][4] Merriam-Webster to the 15th century,[8] and Dictionary.com to 1520–30.[6] The Oxford Dictionary of English gives the first sense as "relating to the word of God or the Bible",[4] and the OED's first quotation for that sense is from William Bonde's Pylgrimage of Perfection (1526).[2][10]

Semantic evolution

The scriptural sense survives in the theological virtues, faith, hope and charity, which the Shorter Oxford distinguishes from the older cardinal virtues;[7][2] the Latin phrase goes back to Albertus Magnus.[2] The general sense, "of or dealing with theology", is recorded from 1603, in Philemon Holland's translation of Plutarch's Morals.[2][10] Johnson (1755) defined the word as relating to the science of divinity.[9] Etymonline records theologic from the mid-15th century and an old alternative theologal from the late 15th century.[3] As a noun, the word meant the theological virtues (1602) and theological matters (1650–1774), both now obsolete, and since 1871 a man trained at a theological college.[2] Since 1959 it has been used disparagingly of arguments that turn on dogma or abstract principle rather than practical concerns,[2][10] and Collins records an informal sense, hard to understand or esoteric.[11]

Timeline

  • early 15th century – theologicalle, relating to theology.[3]
  • 1526 – relating to the word of God, the Bible.[2]
  • 1602 – noun, the theological virtues.[2]
  • 1603 – of or dealing with theology.[2]
  • 1871 – noun, a man trained at a theological college.[2]
  • 1959 – dogmatic, concerned with abstract principle.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to, based on or dealing with theology: The two churches split over a theological dispute about baptism.
  2. Based on what God has revealed of his nature and will.
  3. Preparing people for a religious calling: a theological college.
  4. (informal) Turning on dogma or abstract principle; esoteric and hard to follow.

Word family

  • theologically
  • antitheological
  • nontheological
  • pretheological
  • semitheological
  • untheological

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins