deism English · revision 1137

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdiːɪz(ə)m/, /ˈdeɪɪz(ə)m/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed from ''deist'' and [[-ism]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) influenced by [[fr|déisme]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from [[la|deus|t=god]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) ''Deist'' (1621) is from French ''déiste''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[deity]].^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Belief in a Supreme Being as the source of existence, based on reason, with rejection of revelation (1682).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Deism was a rationalist theology prominent in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, arguing that natural religion was sufficient without Scripture or revelation.^(Etymonline) Until about 1700 the word was opposed to ''atheism''; later it became the opposite of ''theism'', with which it is etymologically equivalent.^(Etymonline) It came to mean especially belief in a God who created the world and then left it to itself.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1621 – ''deist''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1682 – ''deism''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Belief, based on [[reason]] alone, in a God who created the universe but does not intervene in it or reveal himself supernaturally.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' The 17th- and 18th-century movement advocating [[natural religion]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[deist]]

+ * [[deistic]]

+ * [[deistically]]

+ * [[deistical]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[theism]]

+ * [[deity]]

+ * [[atheism]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Wiktionary notes that the word is often capitalized when it refers to the 17th- and 18th-century movement.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}