ἑτερόδοξος

Forms

ἑτερόδοξος (heteródoxos) m or f (neuter ἑτερόδοξον); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros, “other”) + δόξα (dóxa, “opinion”) with the adjectival ending -ος (-os).^[1][2][3] Babiniotis compares ἀλλόδοξος (allódoxos) and ὁμόδοξος (homódoxos).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Philo and Josephus, of people who hold opinions other than the right ones.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In the Imperial period it meant holding a wrong or deviant opinion: Epictetus uses it, and the physicians Soranus and Galen speak of heterodox doctors.^[5][6] Lucian uses it in the neutral sense of thinking differently, opposed to ὁμόδοξος, and Philostratus has the adverb of listening to music in an unorthodox way.^[5][2]

Christian writers from Clement of Alexandria on made it the opposite of ὀρθόδοξος (orthódoxos), “heretical”, and Hesychius glosses it simply as αἱρετικός (hairetikós).^[2][4][7][8] Medieval Greek used it for one who strays from the Orthodox faith.^[9] English borrowed it as heterodox in the 1630s.^[3] In Modern Greek ετερόδοξος (eteródoxos) is a learned word for someone of another Christian denomination.^[10]

Timeline

• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Philo uses it of people who hold wrong opinions.^[5][11]
• 1st century AD – Josephus uses it in the Jewish War.^[5][11]
• 2nd century AD – Soranus and Galen speak of heterodox physicians, and Lucian uses it of differing opinion.^[5][11]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Clement of Alexandria uses it in the church sense, “heretical”.^[2][4][11]
• 5th century AD (probably) – Hesychius glosses it as “heretic”.^[7][11]
• 1630s – English borrows it as heterodox.^[3]
• Modern Greek – It is a learned word for a member of another Christian denomination.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a different opinion, thinking otherwise.^[5][2]
2. Holding opinions other than the right ones; heterodox.^[5][12]
3. (Christian) Heretical; as a noun, a heretic.^[2][7][9]

Related words

• ὀρθόδοξος (orthódoxos)
• English heterodox

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
8. ^ Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
9. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
12. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli