word-forming element meaning "belief (of a specified kind) in God, a god, or gods," from Greek theos "god" (from PIE root *dhes-, forming words for religious concepts) + -ism.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek theos "god;" Latin feriae "holidays," festus "festive," fanum "temple."
word-forming element making nouns implying a practice, system, doctrine, etc., from French -isme or directly from Latin -isma, -ismus (source also of Italian, Spanish -ismo, Dutch, German -ismus), from Greek -ismos, noun ending signifying the practice or teaching of a thing, from the stem of verbs in -izein, a verb-forming element denoting the doing of the noun or adjective to which it is attached. For distinction of use, see -ity. The related Greek suffix -isma(t)- affects some forms.
