Atheist
late 16th century: from French athéisme, from Greek atheos, from a- ‘without’ + theos ‘god’.
wiktionary
From French athéiste ( athée + -iste), from Latin atheos, from Ancient Greek ἄθεος(átheos, “godless, without god”), from ἀ-(a-, “without”) + θεός(theós, “god”).
etymonline
atheist (n.)
1570s, "godless person, one who denies the existence of a supreme, intelligent being to whom moral obligation is due," from French athéiste (16c.), from Greek atheos "without god, denying the gods; abandoned of the gods; godless, ungodly," from a- "without" (see a- (3)) + theos "a god" (from PIE root *dhes-, forming words for religious concepts).
The existence of a world without God seems to me less absurd than the presence of a God, existing in all his perfection, creating an imperfect man in order to make him run the risk of Hell. [Armand Salacrou, "Certitudes et incertitudes," 1943]
