What is up with the word atheist?

I mean I thought it was I before E, except after C...


I realize that many times the exception to the rules of the english language are based on entemology, so I was wondering if anyone knew if this is the case for this word as well.

What is up with the word atheist?
I'm annoyed that the BJ question was removed before I got to answer it so here it is (in the wrong place but just as heartfelt):








Is he gonna give me 2 Million US dollars, because that is my going rate. We might be able to work something out for 1.8 mill if he promised to warn when he is "coming"... get it hahahahahah.
Reply:It's in the meaning of the syllables... a-the-ist





Kind of like:





Creation-ist


Humor-ist


Theolog-ist
Reply:Same grammatical exception to the rule as for the word "theist" only with an added "a."
Reply:What's the word with theism? Atheism is an "Ism" and atheist is an "ist." He is not an "est." because "est" is a term used to express more or most on a subject. Theos is Greek for God. Atheos would be Greek for no God. So an Atheist is a person who doesn't believe in God, just as a Theist is a person who believes in a religious version of God.
Reply:It's because it's from the Greek a(without) and Theos (God).


The ist cognate in English does not exist in Greek, but the order of Greek letters in the original root is still being respected. Thus the unusual order of letters.





Darn! Heretic Savant beat me to it by 6 seconds!


Touché,sir!
Reply:I before E except after C, or when sounded like A, as in neighbor or weigh, or atheist.
Reply:It depends on the syllables in the word. The rule you're referring to applies to one syllable. The --ceive in receive is one syllable, whereas the --eist in atheist is two syllables.





Ever thought of getting back in school? It wouldn't hurt.
Reply:it's because of the etymology
Reply:It's because it is derived from the Greek word "theos", with "a" for the suffix. That's the problem (and the beauty) with English: there are so many different languages that contribute to it, that it is difficult to come up with an empirical rule set.
Reply:You can spell WRONG anyway you like.
Reply:Yes that's right, very good observation.
Reply:How hard can it be just to memorize spellings? English lanugage spelling is one of the least rule-based of all the languages in the world (Italian and German are much more consistent). Just get used to it.
Reply:1571, from French athéiste (16c.), from Greek atheos "to deny the gods, godless," from a- "without" + theos "a god".





Therefore, your answer is, it's the French.
Reply:probably
Reply:Me and my boyfriend have a new suggestion for the word Atheist. How about Gaytheist? Thats a bit more descriptives of them and its stylish and modern and we think its perfect for the 21st century