heathen
heathen — 名詞
- heathensingular
- heathensplural
1. an old-fashioned and often offensive term for someone who follows neither Christ
異教徒
不信主流宗教的人
an old-fashioned and often offensive term for someone who follows neither Christianity nor Judaism nor Islam — historically used by missionaries about people they hoped to convert.
Victorian missionaries set sail for distant islands to convert what they called heathens.
維多利亞時代的傳教士啟航前往遙遠的島嶼，去歸化他們所謂的異教徒。
historical missionary register; plural noun
Ayesha argued that calling anyone a heathen says more about the speaker than the believer.
Ayesha 主張，把任何人稱為異教徒，反映的更多是說話者本身，而不是被指的那個信徒。
In the old pamphlet, Pacific islanders were described as heathens in need of saving.
在那本舊小冊子裡，太平洋島民被形容為亟需拯救的異教徒。
Most modern writers avoid heathen because the word carries a strong sense of religious judgement.
多數現代作者會避免使用「異教徒」這個詞，因為它帶有強烈的宗教評判意味。
- pagan
broadly similar but less judgemental; preferred in modern academic writing
- infidel
stronger and more aggressive; usually religious-warfare context
- unbeliever
more neutral; often used by religious speakers about outsiders
用法筆記
Now widely felt to be offensive. Distinguish from sense 3 (uncivilised behaviour) — sense 1 is specifically about religion and almost always appears in historical or quoted contexts.
常見錯誤
2. the heathen — taken as a group, every person outside the speaker's recognised re
異教世人
對全體非主流信徒的舊稱
the heathen — taken as a group, every person outside the speaker's recognised religion; an archaic collective use, mostly found in 19th-century missionary writing or biblical translations.
The Victorian society raised funds to send Bibles to the heathen across the empire.
維多利亞時代的協會募款，要把聖經送到帝國各地的異教世人手上。
the + heathen used as a plural group
Old church records spoke of bringing light to the heathen in faraway lands.
古老的教會紀錄談到要把光明帶給遠方的異教世人。
Pastor João warned his congregation against assuming the heathen needed pity rather than respect.
João 牧師警告會眾，不要以為那些異教世人需要的是憐憫，而不是尊重。
In the Psalms, the heathen are often pictured as rivals to the people of Israel.
在詩篇中，異教世人常被描繪為以色列人的對手。
- the unfaithful
rarer; used in older religious prose
- the gentiles
specifically non-Jewish people in biblical contexts
- the faithful
members of the speaker's religious community
文法句型
the heathen + verb
用法筆記
Only appears with the definite article and takes a plural verb. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 names the whole group at once, while sense 1 names one individual.
常見錯誤
3. a playful or scolding word for someone who behaves rudely or without basic manne
野蠻人
戲稱沒禮貌的人
a playful or scolding word for someone who behaves rudely or without basic manners — often said with a smile to friends or family, not really meant to insult.
Daichi called his roommates heathens for eating pizza straight from the box on the carpet.
Daichi 看到室友直接從盒子裡拿披薩坐在地毯上吃，便笑罵他們是野蠻人。
playful insult; informal register
You absolute heathen — who puts ketchup on a steak?
你真是個徹底的野蠻人——誰會在牛排上淋番茄醬啊？
vocative; mock outrage
Nellie joked her children were little heathens until they finally learned to use a fork.
Nellie 開玩笑說，她的孩子們在學會用叉子之前都是一群小野蠻人。
Hari and his friends crashed into the kitchen like a pack of hungry heathens.
Hari 和他的朋友們衝進廚房，像一群餓壞的野蠻人。
- savage
also playful in this register; slightly stronger
- barbarian
stronger; suggests genuinely rough behaviour
- philistine
specifically about lacking culture or taste
- gentleman
well-mannered, polite person
用法筆記
Almost always humorous or affectionate; rarely a real insult. Distinguish from sense 1 — no religion is involved here. Often paired with intensifiers ('absolute heathen', 'little heathens').
常見錯誤
heathen — 形容詞
- heathenpositive
- more heathencomparative
- most heathensuperlative
1. describing people, customs, or beliefs that lie outside Christianity, Judaism, a
異教的
非基督猶太伊斯蘭的
describing people, customs, or beliefs that lie outside Christianity, Judaism, and Islam — typically used in older religious or historical writing, and now considered judgemental.
The explorer's journal described heathen rituals around fires deep in the forest.
探險家的日誌描述了森林深處圍著火堆進行的異教儀式。
attributive use; historical voice
Many heathen festivals were later absorbed into the Christian calendar across northern Europe.
歐洲北部的許多異教節日後來被併入基督教的曆法之中。
plural attributive; historical context
Otis researched the heathen gods worshipped in ancient Iceland before the missionaries arrived.
Otis 研究傳教士抵達前，古代冰島人所崇拜的異教神祇。
Old maps marked entire regions as heathen lands waiting for Christian missions.
舊地圖把整片區域標示為等待基督教傳教的異教之地。
文法句型
heathen + noun
用法筆記
Almost always attributive (before a noun), never after 'be'. Avoid in everyday modern writing — prefer 'non-Christian', 'pre-Christian', or 'pagan' depending on context.