theology

Theology comes from Greek theologia, built from theos, "god," and logos, "speech," "account," or "reason." In classical Greek, theologia meant discourse about the gods, often in poetic or philosophical settings. Plato uses related forms in the 4th century BCE when discussing how the gods are spoken of. The word began as a category of speech.

Later Greek and early Christian writers gave it sharper intellectual edges. By the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, Christian authors used theologia for reflection on God, divine nature, and doctrine. Gregory of Nazianzus, who died in 390 CE, became known as "the Theologian" because of this usage. The word had moved from mythic narration toward disciplined reflection.

Latin borrowed it as theologia, and scholastic Europe made it one of the great faculties of learning. In medieval Paris and Oxford, theology meant the formal study of God, scripture, and doctrine. English borrowed theology from Old French and Latin in the 14th century. It entered the university as much as the church.

Modern English keeps both the academic and the religious force. Theology can mean a systematic study of divine things, or more broadly a set of religious ideas about God and the world. It has also stretched into figurative use for any elaborate doctrine. Yet the old Greek bones are still visible: theology is speech about God made methodical.