Michael Pollak wrote:
> >Nope, it's a creed, as in "no discrimination on the basis of race, color
> >or creed." You've never heard of anti-religious bigotry?
Kelley Walker:
> ditto! bigotry in the dictionary just refers to those who are stubbornly
> attached to their own ideas and philosophies, who think the ideas,
> philosophies of others are wrong.
That certainly describes me, perfectly.
The origin of the word, as most of you probably know, is the English oath "By God!" Or at least that's what G.B. Shaw told me in _Saint_Joan_. So there's some religious bigotry right away. Or anti-religious bigotry.
In general, _I_ think the word means "maintaining strongly adverse opinions about others, especially classes of others, for reasons which I deem inadequate as to evidence or reason." Hence one is seldom a bigot in one's own eyes, for most will have long since set about finding reasons for their feelings.