English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθiɪzəm/

Noun

theism ‎(countable and uncountable, plural theisms)

1. (belief system) Belief in the existence of at least one deity.
2. (belief system) Belief in the existence of a personal creator god, goddess, gods and/or goddesses present and active in the governance and organization of the world and the universe. The God may be known by or through revelation.
   • 1999, Jeaneane D. Fowler, Humanism: Beliefs & Practices, page 66

     The term stands in contradistinction to theism which, in its widest sense, means belief in a personal god, goddess, gods and/or goddesses.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• agnosticism
• deism
• divine
• pandeism

References

1. 1 2 Walter W. Skeat, editor (1910), “Theism”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new edition, Oxford: The Clarendon Press, OCLC 582746570, page 640.
2. 1 2 3 “theism, n.1”, in OED Online, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015-03-18.
3. ↑ “theism” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Etymology 2

Borrowing from New Latin thea ‎(“tea”, noun) + English -ism.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtiɪzəm/

Noun

theism ‎(uncountable) (pathology)

1. A morbid condition resulting from excessive consumption of tea.^[2][3]
   • 1888, Cutter, John C., “Narcotics, stimulants, and depressants”, in Comprehensive anatomy, physiology, and hygiene : adapted for schools, academies, colleges, and families : with instruction on the effects of stimulants and narcotics, and brief directions for illustrative dissections of mammals, for elementary work with the microscope, for physiological demonstrations on the human body, and for the management of emergent cases, 3rd edition, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, OCLC 644622387, page 350:

     "Theism" belongs to that genus of disease in which morphinism, caffeinism, and vanillaism belong.

   • 1906 September 15, “Our breakfast beverages”, in The British Medical Journal, volume 2, London: British Medical Association, ISSN 0007-1447, page 653:

     A single cup of tea may cause excitement and insomnia, while a stronger dose rarely fails to produce acute "theism," characterized by excitement, hyperaesthesia, palpitation, sweats, and frequent micturition; it may occasionally simulate delirium tremens, […]

Synonyms

• theaism
• theinism

Coordinate terms

• caffeinism

References

1. ↑ theism in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
2. ↑ “theism, n.2”, in OED Online, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015-03-18.
3. ↑ George M. Gould; R. J. E. Scott (1919), “theism”, in The Practitioner's Medical Dictionary, 3rd rev. and enl. edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: P. Blakiston's Son, OCLC 894192275, page 883.

Anagrams

• Themis