English
infernalism
From infernal + -ism.
Formed from infernal + -ism
Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér-o-s
…
Latin īnferus ‘netherworld, underworld, hell’
Latin īnfernus
Medieval Latin infernalis ‘of the underworld’
Middle French infernal
English infernal
first attested First attested in 1795 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1795, popularised in the theological sense in the 2000s–10s.
Today it means
noun Belief in the existence of hell, especially as a place of eternal and conscious torment after death.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / infernalism