The name given to Non-Pagans. (It only just occurred to me that I dont know!)
2006-12-07 01:07:36 · 3 answers · asked by Leshy 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detaila.html?id=11403&sort=a
Apparently it comes from the Freemasons; a term to describe someone who knows the secrets of the lodge but has not been initiated.
From Dictionary.com:
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source
Cowan
\Cow"an\ (kou"an), n. [Cf. OF. couillon a coward, a cullion.] One who works as a mason without having served a regular apprenticeship. [Scot.]
Note: Among Freemasons, it is a cant term for pretender, interloper.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
And I thank you -- now I know something I did not know before. 25 years as a pagan and I had never heard this!
.
2006-12-07 01:11:50 · answer #1 · answered by Chickyn in a Handbasket 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I'm not so sure about it being a pagan term, but in Cajun French, a "cowan" is a derogatory term for a female's "area."
I'm not so sure on the spelling, either.
2006-12-07 01:12:03 · answer #2 · answered by kenrayf 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It may well be a corruption of the Jewish `Cohan` which means Priest.
2006-12-07 01:13:13 · answer #3 · answered by Sentinel 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋