English
heathenous
Alteration of earlier heathenish, analysable as heathen + -ous.
Formed from heathen + -ous
Proto-Indo-European *kay-t-os ‘forest, wasteland, pasture’
…
Proto-Germanic *haiþīnaz ‘heathen, pagan’
Proto-West Germanic *haiþin
Old English hǣþen ‘pagan, heathen’
Middle English hethen ‘heathen, pagan’
English heathen
Today it means
adj Characteristic of a heathen.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / heathenous