Word of the Day

: May 19, 2007

henotheism

noun HEN-uh-thee-iz-um

What It Means

: the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods

henotheism in Context

During certain periods of Egyptian history, the pharaohs and their subjects practiced henotheism.

Did You Know?

"Henotheism" comes to us from the German word "Henotheismus," which in turn is derived from Greek "hen-" ("one") and "theos" ("god"). Someone who engages in henotheism worships one god but does not deny that there are others. Max Müller, a respected 19th-century scholar, is credited with promoting the word "henotheism" as a counterpart to "polytheism" ("belief in or worship of more than one god") and "monotheism" ("the doctrine or belief that there is but one God"). Müller also used the related word "kathenotheism," from Greek "kath' hena" ("one at a time"), for the worship of several gods successively.