Infidel
/ˈɪn.fɪ.dəl/noun
A person who does not believe in a particular religion, especially one who does not believe in the religion of the speaker.
Did you know?Infidel comes through Old French from Latin infidēlis, built from in- (“not”) + fidēlis (“faithful”), and the same faith-root lies behind words like fidelity and confide.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bheidh-
“to trust, persuade, or confide”
Latin
Latin
fides
“trust, faith, belief”
Latin
Latin
infidēlis
“unfaithful; disloyal; unbelieving”
Old French
Old French
infidel
“an unbeliever; one outside the faith”
Middle English
English
infidel
“a nonbeliever, especially in Christianity”
Modern English
English
infidel
“a person who does not believe in a particular religion”