Faith & RitualGreek → English
Heterodox
/ˈhɛtərədɒks/adjective
Departing from accepted doctrine without necessarily being condemned outright.
The Greek roots
ἕτερος
héteros
other, different
δόξα
dóxa
opinion, belief
Literally: “of another opinion”
The story of the word
Dóxa is what seems right, from dokéō, to seem, so orthodoxy is straight opinion and heterodoxy is opinion aimed elsewhere. Greek-speaking Christians pushed dóxa toward glory when they used it to translate the Hebrew kavod, which is why Orthodox can be read as right worship as readily as right belief. Economists now apply heterodox to schools outside the mainstream, keeping the shape of a theological insult and dropping the theology.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
orthodoxparadoxdogmaheterogeneous
In a sentence
His heterodox views on grace kept him out of a bishopric for twenty years.