idolatry
Meanings
noun
- The worship of idols.
- The excessive admiration of somebody or something.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English ydolatrie, from Old French idolatrie, from Ecclesiastical Latin īdōlatrīa, from Late Latin īdōlolatrīa, from Ancient Greek εἰδωλολατρίᾱ (eidōlolatríā, “worship of idols”), back-formation from εἰδωλολάτρης (eidōlolátrēs), from εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “idol”) & λάτρις (látris, “worshipper”) or λατρεύω (latreúō, “to worship”), from λάτρον (látron, “payment”). Equivalent to idol + -latry. Cognate with Modern French idolâtrie, Italian idolatria, Occitan ydolatria, Portuguese idolatria, and Spanish idolatría. Displaced native Old English dēofolġield (literally “devil worship”).
Synonyms
Related words
Derived words
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.