Heretical

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /həˈɹɛtɪkəl/

Definitions

1. Identifying concepts or principles that deviate from traditional authority or mainstream beliefs is essential to understanding this term
2. This term refers to thoughts or practices that contradict established religious or cultural doctrines and norms
3. Expressing ideas or opinions that reject or challenge orthodox religious beliefs

Etymology: "Heretical" is a plain derivative: it takes the noun "heretic" and adds the adjective-forming suffix "-al", meaning "pertaining to." The noun itself descends from Greek "hairetikos," which was built from "hairesis," a word originally meaning "choice" or "a school of thought," from the verb "haireisthai," "to choose." In the earliest Greek sense, then, a heresy was simply a faction or a preferred opinion, with no suggestion of wrongdoing. The sense of error against authority came later, as the word was applied to dissenting teachings within the early Christian church. The adjective reached English through Middle English, which borrowed the form from Middle French "eretical" and ultimately from Medieval Latin "haereticālis," a derivative of "haereticus." The Latin noun was the vehicle for the Greek meaning of choosing a party, which Christian writers had turned into a term for doctrinal deviation. So the word for a deviant belief carries, at its root, the idea of selection.

Synonyms: unorthodox, dissident

Antonyms: orthodox, conventional