heresy

Meaning

1. a doctrine held by a member of a religion at variance or conflict with established religious beliefs
2. A controversial or unorthodox opinion held by a member of a group, as in politics, philosophy or science.

Synonyms

heterodoxy

unorthodoxy

paganism

apostasy

false doctrine

heathenism

evil ways

infidelity

misbelief

schisms

sect

superstition

atheism

abjuration of one’s faith

evil course

foreign religion

factions

bid’a

heterdoxy

denomination

clause

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhɛɹəsi/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: heresie

Cognate with Welsh: herw

Cognate with Ancient Greek: στερέω

In summary

From Middle English heresie, from Old French heresie (modern hérésie), from Latin haeresis, from Ancient Greek αἵρεσις (haíresis, “choice, system of principles”), from αἱρέομαι (hairéomai, “to take for oneself, to choose”), the middle voice of αἱρέω (hairéō, “to take”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ser-; see also Welsh herw (“theft, raid”), Ancient Greek στερέω (steréō, “to deprive of”).