NOUN:
1. One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion. 2. One who has no religion. 3. A non-Christian. 4. A hedonist. 5. A Neo-Pagan.

ADJECTIVE:
1. Not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. 2. Professing no religion; heathen. 3. Neo-Pagan.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Late Latin pgnus, from Latin, country-dweller, civilian, from pagus, country, rural district.

It should be mentioned, probably that the modern practices that have sprung up since WW 2 seeking to resurrect the world-view of paganism are actually a different philosophical and cultural group altogether, called Neo-Pagan.

My first introduction to the word Pagan was from my mother, who used it to name a sad-eyed, snuffly, slow sort of black and white cocker spaniel who lived with us in New York in the house where I was born. As a result, I have never taken the term as seriously as I am sure it deserves. He escaped from the family car during a pit stop on the road to Maine one summer, and the whole family wandered up and down the road's edge calling "Pagan!! Pagan!!" to no avail, which must have made the locals think we were pretty barmy, eh?

A

See also www.WorkingWitches.com