Where does “Pagan” come from?

Pagan comes from Latin paganus, derived from Latin pagus meaning district or countryside, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ǵ- meaning to fix or fasten.

Pagan (English): The city of Bagan, Myanmar

Definitions

  1. The city of Bagan, Myanmar

Ancestry of “Pagan”, step by step

Pagan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Burmese ပုဂံ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1BurmeseပုဂံBagan
2Old Burmeseပုကမ်—
3Paligāmavillage
4Sanskritग्रामan inhabited place, village, hamlet, settlement;...
5Proto-Indo-Aryangrā́mas—
6Proto-Indo-Iraniangrā́masvillage, town; community
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ger-to gather; flock, herd

via Latin pāgānus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinpāgānusof or pertaining to the countryside, rural, rustic
2Latinpāgusdistrict, canton, region
3Proto-Italicpāgos—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂ǵos—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂ǵ-to attach

Words derived from “Pagan”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ger- →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian grā́mas →Every word from Proto-Indo-Aryan grā́mas →
Pagan — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer