1583: heresy Apr 15, 2019

Free thought is usually prized in a modern democratic society, but from a time in history when this was not the case, there is still some effect on the lexicon. The word 'heresy' comes from the Greek 'haireomai' meaning 'choose'. Originally, this word and its various forms referred to a person taking a school of thought or sect of usually—but not necessarily—Christianity, but over time the word morphed to denote an idea that was not in line with a particular orthodoxy. Usually this word has religious contexts nowadays, but it is in some ways just as traditional when it is used to describe politics, for example.

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