agnostic
/æɡˈnɒstɪk/ag-NO-stik
/æɡˈnɑstɪk/ag-NAH-stik
Meaningnot knowing
Common meaning: one who says God cannot be known
- anot, without (Greek ἀ-/ἀν-)Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. · scan
- gnosto come to know; one who knowsLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 167 · scan
- ticadjective ending: relating to
‘not, without (Greek ἀ-/ἀν-)’ + ‘to come to know’ → agnostic
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek γιγνώσκω; γνώμων ‘to come to know; one who knows’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry γιγνώσκω, p. 167 · dictionary scan
Roots
- γιγνώσκω; γνώμων Greek “to come to know; one who knows”
Related words
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