idolatry

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun religious zeal; the willingness to serve God
  2. noun the worship of idols; the worship of images that are not God

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”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

devotion, veneration, cultism

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