orthodox

From Late Middle English orthodoxe, from Middle French orthodoxe and its etymon Late Latin orthodoxus, from Ancient Greek ὀρθόδοξος (orthódoxos), from ὀρθός (orthós, “straight”) + δόξα (dóxa, “opinion”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːθədɒks/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɹθədɑks/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: or‧tho‧dox

orthodox (comparative more orthodox, superlative most orthodox)

1. Conforming to the accepted, established, or traditional doctrines of a given faith, religion, or ideology. [from 15th c.]

   Synonym: homodox (less common)

   Antonyms: heretical, heterodox, inorthodox, nonorthodox, unorthodox

   • 2005, Alister E McGrath, Iustitia Dei:

     Five important modifications were made by the Pietists to the orthodox doctrine of justification, each corresponding to a distinctive aspect of the movement's agenda.

   • 2009 December 23, Andrew Brown, The Guardian:

     ‘These speakers are academics who have specialised in Islamic sciences and are well respected in scholarly circles. It is grossly unjust to suggest that they belong to some fringe ideology rather than orthodox Islam.’

2. Adhering to whatever is customary, traditional, or generally accepted. [1640s]

   Synonyms: conservative, conventional

   Antonyms: liberal, outlandish, unorthodox

   • 1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter VII, in Alice or The Mysteries […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book III, pages 297–298:

     She tattled on: first to one, then to the other—then to all, till she had tattled herself out of breath;—and then the orthodox half hour had expired, and the bell was rung, and the carriage ordered, and Mrs. Hare rose to depart.

   • 1976 March 27, F. Dudley Hart, “History of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis”, in British Medical Journal, volume 1, number 6012, →DOI, →JSTOR, page 763:

     Not only the quack cures of the past but also many forms of treatment given with the best will and intentions in the world by the best and most orthodox doctors of the time seem strange to us today.

3. Of the eastern churches, Eastern Orthodox. [1772]

   Antonyms: Roman Catholic, Western Christianity

4. Of a branch of Judaism. [1853]

   Antonyms: liberal, Reform Judaism

5. (botany) Of pollen, seed, or spores: viable for a long time; viable when dried to low moisture content. [c. 1975]

   Antonym: recalcitrant

• orthodox file manager
• orthodoxise, orthodoxize

Borrowed from Late Latin orthodoxus.

• IPA^(key): /ˌɔr.toːˈdɔks/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: or‧tho‧dox
• Rhymes: -ɔks

orthodox (not comparable)

1. orthodox
   1. (ideology, religion) conforming to conventional norms in opinion or practice

      Karl Kautsky was een orthodoxe socialist. ― Karl Kautsky was an orthodox socialist.

   2. (more generally) staying close to established customs, not particularly innovative

• heterodox
• onorthodox

• ultraorthodox

• orthodoxie

Borrowed from Late Latin orthodoxus, from Ancient Greek ὀρθόδοξος (orthódoxos), from ὀρθός (orthós, “straight”) + δόξα (dóxa, “opinion”).

• IPA^(key): /ˌɔʁ.toˈdɔks/

• Audio

  (file)

orthodox (strong nominative masculine singular orthodoxer, comparative orthodoxer, superlative am orthodoxesten)

1. (religion, sometimes other ideologies) orthodox

   Synonym: rechtgläubig

   Er ist orthodoxer Marxist.

   He is an orthodox Marxist.

2. (religion) Orthodox

   Er ist orthodoxer Jude.

   He is an Orthodox Jew.

• Particularly in Christian contexts, the word is ambiguous as it can have the general sense of “not heterodox”, or the specific senses of “Eastern Orthodox” and “Oriental Orthodox” (which are distinct groups). The specifications byzantinisch-orthodox (“Eastern Orthodox”) and orientalisch-orthodox (“Oriental Orthodox”) are available, though the former is rarely used.

• Griechisch-Orthodoxe Kirche f
• Koptisch-Orthodoxe Kirche f
• Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche f
• Syrisch-Orthodoxe Kirche f
• unorthodox

• Orthodoxie

• “orthodox” in Duden online
• “orthodox” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache