Where does “pagan” come from?
pagan (Jamaican Creole) comes from English Pagan, from Burmese ပုဂံ, from Old Burmese ပုကမ်, from Pali gāma, from Sanskrit ग्राम, from Proto-Indo-Aryan grā́mas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian grā́mas, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ger- — to gather; flock, herd.
Ancestry of “pagan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Pagan | The city of Bagan, Myanmar |
| 2 | Burmese | ပုဂံ | Bagan |
| 3 | Old Burmese | ပုကမ် | — |
| 4 | Pali | gāma | village |
| 5 | Sanskrit | ग्राम | an inhabited place, village, hamlet, settlement;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | grā́mas | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | grā́mas | village, town; community |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ger- | to gather; flock, herd |